Nearly Half of Workers Send Flirtatious E-Mail While on the Job and 36 Percent in Committed Relationships Flirt On-line
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Feb 14, 2001--Terra Lycos, the leading global Internet network, today announced the results of its exclusive Valentine`s Day survey on ''on-line flirting,'' from Lycos Matchmaker (http://www.matchmaker.com), one of the Web`s most popular online dating sites. More than 5,000 Lycos Matchmaker users, 51 percent male and 49 percent female, addressed topics from e-mail flirting, to on-line dating etiquette, to flirting on-line at work.
The results of the survey show that it is now becoming more popular to flirt online with other users while at work. The following results support this trend.
Flirting at Work:
- 73 percent use e-mail as a way to flirt
- 48 percent flirt online during the workday
- 12 percent spend more than one hour each day flirting online while at work
- 50 percent find it easier to flirt via e-mail than in person
''Our members interact through e-mail more than any other dating site with more than three million e-mails exchanged each week,'' said Meredith Hanrahan, senior business director for Lycos Matchmaker. ''In the past 60 days, more than 15 Matchmaker users announced their engagements to be married. Our matches have led to thousands of relationships, which started with flirting on-line, and we`ve discovered on-line flirting to be more empowering than picking someone up at the bar.''
The exclusive Lycos Matchmaker poll also revealed the following trends in online flirting:
Is Flirting On-line Cheating?
- 36 percent flirt with people on-line when they are in a committed relationship
- Over half (55 percent) of those flirting on-line who are in a committed relationship do so because they believe that flirting on-line is not really cheating
- Only 36 percent of respondents have a separate e-mail account exclusively for dating and flirting purposes
On-line Dating Etiquette:
- 47 percent think a first date is appropriate after just one week of online flirting
- 39 percent are more likely to respond to subject lines that have a personal touch
- Compared to women, men are quicker (one week or less) to request a first date after trading e-mails with someone (67% versus 55%)
What makes an e-mail flirtatious?
- 29 percent said a smiley face :-)
- 24 percent said ''an erotic or sexy subject line''
Growth of On-line Dating:
With more than 91 million single adults, the online dating industry is a relatively untapped market. Lycos Matchmaker now has more than five million registered members to date and has been growing at a rate of over 200,000 new members a month, with a 128 percent increase in visitors since it was acquired by Lycos in June, 2000. Sixty percent of respondents in the survey said they know at least one couple that has resulted from meeting on-line. Lycos Matchmaker is currently the number two on-line dating service according to Media
Metrix, and was ranked by Industry Standard in 1999 as the number one most engaging site on the Internet.
About Terra Lycos
Terra Lycos is the new global Internet network operating in 41 countries in 19 languages, reaching 94 million unique monthly visitors worldwide. Created by the combination of Terra Networks, S.A. and Lycos, Inc., in October 2000, Terra Lycos is one of the most popular Internet networks in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America, and is the third largest Internet access provider in the world. The Terra Lycos network of sites includes Lycos.com, Terra.com, AnimationExpress.com, Angelfire.com, ATuHora.com, Gamesville.com, HotBot.com, htmlGEAR.com, Invertia.com, Lycos Zone, Matchmaker.com, Quote.com, Rumbo.com, Sonique, Tripod.com, Webmonkey.com, WhoWhere.com, RagingBull.com and Wired News (Wired.com). The company`s corporate headquarters is in Barcelona, Spain and operating headquarters is in Waltham, Mass.
(c)2001 Lycos, Inc. Lycos(R)is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Terra Networks, S.A., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.
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