Ebony
BY GLAMAZON TYOMI
Online dating is a concept that’s finally become a staple within our society. No longer is it considered “dangerous” or downright “creepy” to create bonds with people across wifi signals and meet up when the time is right. Now more than ever, couples are meeting within the digital space and walking down the aisle towards a lifetime of forever. Mainstream dating sites have done a great job at catering to the general desires of hopeful singles, but when it comes to alternative lifestyles, secondary sites have picked up the slack.
For the couple that seeks to participate in a relationship with more than just one mate, the option to search has proven difficult in the past within mainstream platforms, but that’s about to change. Online dating giant OkCupid.com is the first to offer the option for couples to search for a mate as a unit.
According to The Atlantic, the online-dating giant is adding a feature for its members that allows couples to list themselves as “in an open relationship,” which enables partners to link their profiles together in order to search for a third member in openness and honesty. This change comes from OkCupid’s recent data, revealing a rapid increase in the number of couples interested in entering into polyamorous relationships.
According to the data, 24 percent of its members have a serious interest in entering into group sex, and 42 percent would consider dating someone in an open or polyamorous relationship. These numbers are actually an 8 percent increase from five years ago according to OkCupid, but what’s even more interesting is the decrease in the numbers of members interested in strictly monogamous relationships.
OkCupid’s data say the numbers have fallen to a minority of 44 percent, down from 56 percent of members interested in monogamy in 2010. This shows a growing interest in polyamory within the American population, and according to the results of a recent national survey published on PsychologyToday.com, 9.8 million couples across the United States are in some form of polyamorous or open relationship currently—this includes heterosexual and homosexual couples.
As the world continues to move deeper into the millennium, people seem to be rethinking the traditional constructs of relationships that have been implemented by society and going with what “feels” more natural for their lifestyles and desires. This profile linking is the first of its kind for any mainstream dating site, and it may be the catalyst to spark a change within the market towards more accepting platforms. …