In a year of broken records-perfect season, four-game losing streak, ugliest statue ever in history-Duke University can now claim one more. As of April 10, 2007, Duke is the number one user of online dating according to eTwine Holdings, Inc.
The honors don't stop there. We're also the "horniest," eclipsing usual suspects Florida State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by 11 and 12 spots, respectively. These rankings, which can be found at eTwine's dating site Iamfreetonight.com, show Duke jumping upwards from eighth place as was reported by The Chronicle earlier this month.
The recent media focus on online dating has led some students to question just who is giving Duke its reputation. According to Cliff Lerner, president and CEO of eTwine Holdings, Inc., the answer might surprise you.
"The college section of the site is very new and was recently launched so there isn't a huge number of college students on there yet," Lerner said. "That being said, there appears to be about 50 Duke students on the site."
Although this is far more than most of the other 89 colleges represented, not all Duke users are equally involved. Only 13 users are female, and even fewer have full profiles and pictures. Among the handful, junior Lauren Davis expressed slight disappointment with her experience so far.
"I joined the site because I heard that Duke was the 8th most active college on it, and I thought it would be funny to see who else was on there," Davis said. "Unfortunately, I only saw two Duke students who had profiles that contained pictures."
Davis, who approached her profile with a sense of humor, said she was just having some fun. Her profile lists qualities like "high maintenance, stubborn" and interests in "antiquing and gambling."
Whether or not Davis is kidding, her profile is being taken seriously by the site. She currently holds the title of Duke's hottest female despite listing "in a relationship" under status.
"I guess men on the internet can't read since they keep messaging me anyway," Davis added. "Maybe it's because I posted a picture of two girls kissing?"
Davis may be having a laugh, but online dating is no longer a punch-line. Dating sites are growing in number and beginning to target a broader base. Iamfreetonight.com is among hundreds of sites offering "dating" or "hook-ups" to young adults.
Adultfriendfinder.com is one of the largest sex-based dating sites online, boasting a membership of 23,482,014 users. The site urges members to find "hot sexual encounters that give new meaning to adult dating." And it seems that young people are listening for a change.
A recent survey by America Online targeted 4,000 unmarried men and women and asked them where they met their last date. According to the survey, 16% of singles reported meeting their partner online as opposed to 15% at work and only 11% at bars or clubs.
Although sites like Adultfriendfinder.com and Iamfreetonight.com may be offering little more than an upgrade to the hook-up culture, many sites offer a more innocent service. eHarmony.com, one of the largest dating sites today, offers its users a forum to find long-term romantic partners.
In 2005, the Online Dating Journal published a study on eHarmony done by Harris Interactive, an independent research firm. The study showed that 33,000 members were married over a one year period.
That Duke deserves its number one spot is debatable. That online dating is becoming more popular among young adults is not. Whether looking for love or lust, the thousands of online seekers certainly aren't joking.
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