Editing Internet relationship (section)

==== Success of dating websites and social networks ====
[[Canaan Partners]] have reported that the dating industry brings in an estimate of 3-4 billion dollars yearly from membership fees and advertisements.<ref name="Start of online dating2" /> The range of dating sites has expanded vastly over the past two decades. There are dating websites that focus on the [[matchmaking]] of certain groups of people based on religion, sexual preference, race, etc.<ref name="Start of online dating2" />

The average life expectancy has been on a rise, leaving many young singles feeling as if they have plenty of time to find a [[life partner]]. This opens up time to travel and experience things without the burden of a relationship. As of 1996, more than 20% of Canadians "were not living in the same census subdivision as they were five years earlier"<ref name="canada2" /> and as of 1998, more than half of employed Canadians worried "they [did] not have enough time to spend with their family and friends".<ref name="canada2" /> Due to an increase in many businesses requiring their employees to travel, singles, often young professionals, find online dating websites to be the perfect answer to their "problem", states Brym and Lenton.

Erik Shipmon, author of "Why Do People Date Online?", exclaims, "the Internet is the ultimate singles' bar—without the noise, the drunks, and the high cost of all those not-so-happy hours. Nor, thanks to online dating membership sites, do you have to depend on your friends and family to hook you up with people they think would be perfect for you—and who wouldn't be perfect for, well, anyone, which is why they are still unattached".<ref name="internet like singles bar2">{{cite web|url=http://www.cupidnights.com/dating-advice/article-12.html|title=Why do people date online|last=Shipmon|first=Erik|access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref>