From Furloughed to Flirting: Washington DC Singles Turn to Zoosk During Government Shutdown

The government shutdown has just entered its third week, leaving 800,000 employees out of the office without pay until the government reopens. It turns out that the furloughed folks have turned to online dating!

Zoosk’s user base of 40 million singles includes many DC-area daters. We decided to find out if there is any correlation between the government shutdown and dating…and it turns out that furloughed Washingtonians are flirting far more!

Comparing the week before the shutdown to the two weeks following, we discovered that the shutdown has certainly opened up the DC dating scene, specifically:

• More people looking to meet up: During the first and second week of the shutdown, the number of times DC-area Zoosk members have indicated a desire to meet up with another single through our Zoosk Carousel feature increased by 91.6% and 110%, respectively.

• More people are looking at profiles: During the second week of the shutdown, the number of profiles viewed by DC-area Zoosk members jumped by 45.6%.

• More instant messages are being sent: The second week of the shutdown showed a 48% increase in the number of instant messages sent between logged-in users in the DC area.

• More new active users are signing up: Zoosk saw new users in the DC area grow by 4.3% and 17.6% in the first and second week of the shutdown, respectively. These users have all verified their accounts and uploaded at least one photo.

In the wake of this frustrating situation, we’re glad that Zoosk’s mission of empowering people to lead a more fulfilling love life is bringing those out of work some happiness and, hopefully, some fantastic connections.

Happy Zoosking!

Our exclusive survey with Glamour Magazine shows surprising results about commitment!

Who would have thought that it’s women, not men, who are more commitment-phobic? Zoosk partnered with Glamour Magazine to survey over 2,000 Zooskers on their feelings about getting serious. This infographic shows what we discovered:

Head over to Glamour for the full break-down of the results!

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Kissing Frogs on V Day?

70.8% of men and 67.9% of women would actually kiss a frog if it meant they’d find true love. Well the good news is you don’t have to. Not when you can find your true love on Zoosk.

We wish you love and luck in your search for a Valentine. ❤ Happy Zoosking!

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Happy International Flirting Week!

In celebration of International Flirting Week (February 13-19, 2013) and Valentine’s Day, Zoosk conducted a survey among more than 13,000 of our members around the world to gather their thoughts on flirting – why they do it, how they do it, and who does it best.

Says Robin Gorman Newman, founder of International Flirting Week: “As the Zoosk survey shows, many view flirting as fun even if they don’t want to date the person, but it’s also a way to jumpstart a relationship or rekindle romance.  In our busy lives, flirting can be a quick and effective way to remind your mate that you love and are excited by them.”

So what did our survey discover? Well, here’s what we found out!

It’s a battle of the sexes!

• The majority of men (60%) think that women are the biggest flirts, and the majority of women (53%) think that men are more flirtatious!

#1 reason why people flirt? It’s fun.

• 41% of men and women around the world say, “flirting is just playful fun!”
• 20% say is it a good ice breaker when dating, although only 11% say they flirt to attract a partner.
• 18% say flirting helps keep the romance alive in a relationship

Both men and women admit to flirting just for fun.

• More than half of men (54%) will flirt with a woman even if he is not interested in pursuing a relationship with her.
• 41% of women will flirt with a man even if she is not interested in pursuing a relationship with him.

Flirting keeps the romance alive.

• 89% of men and women think that it is important to flirt with your significant other even when in an established relationship.

Biggest turn-off when it comes to flirting?

• 32% say coming on too strong and invading personal space are the biggest turn offs.
• 20% say corny pick up lines are a turn off.
• 20% say inappropriate comments about one’s physical appearance.
• 7% say suggestive body language.

We all know it and they admit it: Italians are flirts!

• 97% of Italian men consider themselves a flirt, but American men are not too far behind at 76%.

Want to celebrate International Flirting Week? Flirt with someone today on Zoosk!

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Global Perspective on Moustaches and More

During the month of November, thousands of men around the world will grow mustaches as part of Movember, a movement to promote and raise funds for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer. We here at Zoosk.com recently conducted surveys among thousands of Zooskers around the globe to gather their thoughts on facial hair and how it plays out in their relationships.  Here’s what we found:

Facial hair is gaining in popularity in the U.S.
• Only 50% of American men surveyed report that their father had facial hair.
• Today, 64% of American men say they have facial hair.
• Mustache may be a French word, however, only 40% of French men say they have facial hair.

The #1 reason men grow facial hair? It gives them more confidence.
• 40% of American men (and 44% of men worldwide) say when they have facial hair, they feel more confident.
• Other reasons why men grow facial hair? 36% of American men say they feel more attractive, 15% feel more sophisticated, and 9% feel more intelligent with facial hair.

80% of American women are okay with, and even attracted to, men with facial hair.
• It must be an English-speaking thing — 80% of American women and 69% of women in the UK and Canada say that facial hair on their man is a-ok.
• However, the majority of women in Australia, France, Mexico and Denmark prefer clean-shaven men.

The goatee wins as the preferred form of facial hair among American women.
• 36% of American women say they prefer men sport a goatee (as opposed to a beard or mustache).
• Men take note! Women say the “soul patch” is the least-preferred form of facial hair.

Growing facial hair for a cause can lead to romance!
• 63% of American women say that they would be more open to romance with a man who grew facial hair for a worthy cause.
• French women feel the opposite way, with only 27% saying that they would feel more romantic with a man who grew facial hair for a cause.

Women around the world agree that Johnny Depp sports the best facial hair.
• More than 50% of the women surveyed around the world say Johnny Depp is the celebrity with the best facial hair.

U.S. men think Sean Connery has the best facial hair.
• 45% of American men say Sean Connery as the celeb with the best facial hair. Johnny Depp comes in 2nd place with 26% of the votes among men.

The Zoosk Facial Hair Survey was conducted online by Zoosk in October 2012 in the U.S, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Mexico, Sweden, and the U.K.

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Zoosk has 10 million fans on Facebook!

We’re thrilled to announce that Zoosk has now officially crossed the 10 million fans mark on Facebook! This is a huge milestone for us and we couldn’t have done it without our many awesome fans – all 10 million of them – whom we thank and appreciate with all our heart. Check out the page and let us know what you think. While you’re at it, why not congratulate us with a ‘Like’? 😉

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Zoosk’s Social Media Etiquette Survey & Findings

Zoosk recently conducted a series of surveys to gather Americans’ thoughts on social media etiquette when it comes to sharing romantic moments on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. What did we find out? Well, our survey findings show that both singles and couples embrace social media, but are also very cautious when it comes to sharing personal information about their relationships on social media sites! Not surprising, in this day and age. But we also found out that couples do embrace certain technologies, like text messages, that help them interact throughout the day and feel connected to each other. (Like our Zoosk couple profiles!) Some of our specific survey findings include:

Americans restrict social media sharing for the sake of their professional careers.

• 60% of Americans say they are cautious about posting romantic posts on social media because they are worried about what their co-workers might think.
• 64% of Americans would be more apt to share romantic relationship updates on social media if they were not Facebook friends with their co-workers.
• 38% of Americans say they just do not post any relationship or date night photos on social media sites for that reason.

Couples embrace technology in their relationships.

• 81% of couples say they use technology to interact with each other throughout the day.
• 60% of couples say the primary role of social media in their relationship involves publicly expressing feelings of love or sharing photos/videos or relationship updates with family and friends.

Texting can be romantic!

• 78% of Americans would prefer a romantic text vs. an affectionate Facebook post or Tweet.

Women like to view their friends’ date night photos; men prefer privacy.

• 51% of women like to check out their friends’ romantic photos and updates.
• Only 37% of men like to check out their friends’ romantic photos and updates.

We asked two social media and dating experts for their input, and they offered the following tips:

• Don’t go overboard on texting. Laurie Davis, founder of eFlirt Expert, says sometimes we mistake the convenience of communication for the availability of our sweetheart. Send no more than three back-to-back texts sans response.
• Share the good news! Julie Spira, a leading online dating expert, CEO and founder of Cyber-Dating Expert, and author of “The Perils of Cyber-Dating“, says when a couple changes their relationships status, the cheering squad from friends jumps into high gear with an abundance of “likes.”
• Use your professional filter. Julie Spira suggests if you wouldn’t say it in a job interview, don’t post it on Facebook.
• Stay on the same page. Everyone has a different level of comfort with online romance and it’s important to know your partner’s social sharing preferences. Have an open discussion about likes and dislikes, and don’t be offended if your partner doesn’t want to get digitally intimate, says Laurie Davis.
• Create group settings. It’s important to utilize privacy functions on sites like Facebook by creating groups that allow you to make sure that your coworkers are not opted-in to status updates about things you’d rather they not see, advises Laurie Davis. Zoosk’s couple profiles is also a private space for you to digitally capture the moments of your relationship, either keeping it just for the two of you or inviting close couple friends to join in your journey.

About the surveys: Data shared in this release comes from three Zoosk surveys conducted online, among users of Zoosk who reside in the United States. A survey in June 2012 fielded responses from more than 1,600 of its members who are in a committed relationship. Surveys in July and August 2012 fielded responses from 3,146 and 1,281 members, respectively, who are single and/or in a committed relationship.

International Kissing Day – Survey Results, in Infographic form!

Thousands of Zoosk couples and singles in 9 countries voted on our International Kissing Day survey, now, here are the results!

Zoosk’s 2nd Annual Football Survey

What do women Zooskers think about the Big Game? 

The biggest football game of the year is quickly approaching and we here at Zoosk wanted to find out what the ladies think about the game, the players and how football affects their dating life.  Last week, we polled more than 1,000 female Zooskers and we think you’ll find the results a bit surprising…