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Dating Over 50

Many singles over the age of 50 have a tendency to hesitate to get back into the dating game because they feel the dating scene has changed so dramatically in this age of modern technology and the rise of online dating is something they just are not familiar with. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that of the nearly 100 million Americans who are now 45 or older, almost 40 percent are currently available singles.

The over 50 dating game has never been more interesting and challenging than it is today simply because there are more players than ever before due to higher divorce rates and longer life spans. The reality is that there are now more single Americans than at any other time in history.

Despite the fact that our culture places on a heavy emphasis on being young and looking young, there is nothing that says single seniors can’t act young, even if they are not. When you are over 50 you should have mastered a few aspects of your life by now, even if it is only the wisdom to know that not every dating experience is a life or death affair. You should have gained enough perspective to have an edge on maturity and personal development, and those are both good things when it comes to dating.

One thing singles over 50 can do to get back into the dating game is to search online for books, CDs, coaches, courses and the many other resources available as you venture onto the dating scene. The rise of online dating sites, such as SeniorFriendFinder, may throw some seniors off a bit when they realize the old dating ways they were used to are not viable anymore, but the good news is that most of the good online dating sites allows seniors to hook up with like-minded seniors in their areas quite quickly and easily these days. It’s a fact of modern life that there is really no better way for a single over 50 to meet potential partners than on the Internet today.

According to data from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), a study of singles over the age of 55 said “Having someone to talk to or do things with” is the most important reason for dating. The AARP also asked both men and women in their 50’s what their top complaints about senior dating were and found that the men said:

Dating partners with a lot of baggage – 42%.
Women who become extremely difficult to get along with after a few dates – 28%.
Women who want to get serious too fast – 18%.

When the group of over 50 women were asked the same question the responses were:

Dating partners with a lot of baggage – 35%.
Not having a clue where to meet men and meeting too few new men – 23%.
Overeager men who want to get serious too fast – 21%.

Despite the complaints, it appears the phenomenon of online dating does offer singles over 50 the best way to find a relationship worth keeping today. The older generation is fully represented online and studies have found that nearly three quarters of adults between the ages of 50-64 now use the Internet regularly. Data from the Nielsen ratings firm backs this up with the finding that computer users aged 55+ now account for 22% of all traffic to on-line personal sites, and that the 50+ segment is the fastest growing group of subscribers on the most popular on-line dating sites. Overall, it is estimated that some 15 million Internet users have pursued their romantic interests successfully on-line in the U.S. and there is no reason that singles over 50 should be left out of the game. If you’re over 50 and looking for a relationship today, going online is simply the best and easiest way to accomplish your goal.

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According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, President Barack Obama leads presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney among voters nationwide with the help of an almost 2-1 advantage among single women. The Quinnipiac survey shows the overall voter support for Obama with 46 percent and Romney with 43 percent. In the category of Single women however, they favor Obama over Romney, 60 percent to 31 percent.

Peter Brown, assistant director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University Polling Institute was widely quoted in the media as saying that the president is benefiting from a marriage gap that may be related to social issues. Brown also said unmarried people overall favor Obama 54 percent to 34 percent, while married people support Romney 51 percent to 38 percent. In an e-mail statement that accompanied the poll conducted in early July, Brown said that “Married voters are more likely to focus on the economy and health care, while single voters are more focused on issues such as gay rights and reproductive issues.” He also added that married people tend to be older, more financially secure and more conservative and also include a larger proportion of Republicans and white voters.

These differences in opinion and voter group backing may lay in the fact that Obama, as a Democrat has stepped up his support for gay marriage and says he favors abortion rights. Romney, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and has stated his opposition to abortion during several recent campaign stops. The Quinnipiac poll also revealed that
Romney leads 54 percent to 35 percent among married men, and he has a seven-point advantage among married women. For single men, Obama leads 47 percent to 38 percent. Men as a group overall, support Romney 47 percent to 40 percent; while all women combined support Obama by 51 percent to 39 percent for Romney. Further breakdowns of the polling data also suggest that Romney leads 51 percent to 38 percent among total white voters, and Obama leads by 59 percent to 30 percent among Hispanic voters. The advantage among Hispanic voters could prove to be a critical in the crucial battleground states of Florida, Colorado and Nevada. The poll also shows Obama with almost total support among black voters, pulling in 92 percent compared to Romney’s 2 percent.

The Quinnipiac poll shows that voters are nearly split evenly on which candidate would do a better job dealing with the economy, immigration and health care. Some 56 percent of voters said they believe Obama “cares about their needs,” but the also poll found that most voters disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy with 55 percent disapproving compared to the 40 percent who do approve. Obama’s handling of immigration policy and health care was also viewed mostly negative with 49 percent of the voters disapproving of the job Obama is doing overall. Although the Quinnipiac University poll data is very interesting, there are still many months before the election, and the numbers could easily make big swings in that time.

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Just as the recent U.S. Census Bureau’s latest findings have generated much speculation as to the current and future social and financial trends in this nation, Australia also conducts its own official government census that gives interested observers a better look at the problems and solutions facing that nation in the coming decade.

According to the latest census data from down under, it appears that the city life there is highly attractive for singles under age 30, while families with children are flocking to suburbs in record numbers at the same time. Australia’s latest census data shows a distinct trend toward major urban areas full of city dwellers under age 30 who are free of children and wedding rings. At the same time, the Aussie census data also shows a real trend where Australian suburban and country counterparts are twice as likely to be married with a few children. The numbers show that nearly two-thirds of the women in the city of Sydney have never had any children at all, with the most recent numbers rising up to some 45,000 women, a figure that is up a full 10 percent within the past five years.

Looking a bit closer at the numbers from the city of Sydney show that two-thirds of women there have had at least one child compared to the average suburban Sydney family that has 1.9 kids. The census shows that children under 15 years old account for just 7 percent of the central city’s population, compared with the entire greater suburban Sydney area where 20 percent of the population is composed of children. Sydney is also mostly devoid of grandparents too, as people over 60 make up only 9.8 percent of the city’s population, compared to the surrounding suburbs where more than 17 percent of the population is between the ages of 60 and 84.

Sociologists have said they feel the city is now also attracting more young women who would not have children until their early 30s and would have otherwise raised their children outside the city. Some sociologists have noted that inner-city Sydney is not a very child-friendly area because there really isn’t much housing for children there. The census data revealed that only 24 percent of Sydney’s city dwellers are currently married compared to the Sydney suburbs and the rest of the nation where the rate of married couples is closer to 5- percent.

As a result of these census findings, Australians are beginning to think of Sydney’s inner-city area as a “young person’s area” where builders and property developers are designing new, smaller apartments specifically for singles and women without children as over 50 percent of the buyers in the market are currently single women under the age of 30.

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