Gone are the days when arranged marriages and traditional websites such as shaadi.com were considered probably the only way for women in urban India to find a companion for life (read marriage).
Today’s woman is educated, successful, financially independent, ready to experiment and she is in no hurry to get hitched by 25. And here steps in the world of online dating, once considered evasive.
Online dating websites were not taken seriously until recently, let alone a reliable means to end your singlehood. And the term ‘online dating’ once had a negative connotation to it where it seemed like everyone was out there just for ‘fun’ or ‘flings’.
With the advent and increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter which made getting touch with people around the globe just a click away, it has also made the dating game a lot more easier. Earlier, it was men who increasingly became members of dating websites, whereas today a lot of women are entering the bandwagon and they are not just for flings or having some fun and not necessarily looking to settle down.
According to a report by CLSA, which states that about half of Indian women online are single, sex ratios online skew towards males (just as in reality), with just one in every five users a woman.
Founder of www.mumbaiboss.com, Nayantara Kilachand in her article ‘Mumbai Journal: An Online Dating Revolution in India’ says, “For them, listing “compatibility” factors like height, weight, astrology forecast, skin colour, caste and religion - as is often required on sites like Shaadi.com - is archaic and pointless. They prefer meeting over a cup of coffee and bonding over more fluid interests like favourite movies and books, rather than ticking off qualities through a pre-set list of attributes that are often physical or family-given.”
Sridevi Desai, a 26-year-old accounting professional says, “When I have made most of the decisions for myself, why would I leave the crucial decision of getting married to the ‘elders’ in the family? I am not a social person either and hence it is not easy meeting new people. In the traditional set up, they look to match social and economical background and I have a problem with that. Compatibility does not even figure in the list. I don’t mind becoming a member of a dating website which has a reliable network and where I will get to meet like-minded people.”
Floh is one such website in Bangalore, started in May 2011 by Simran and Siddharth Mangharam, which now has about 500 registered members. They cater to singles of a select sensibility and every applicant is screened to check the accuracy of their personal information.
Other than Floh, there are a spate of websites like Trabblr.com, Stepout.com, twomangoes.com who are not advocating marriage necessarily, but are making it easier for women to find like-minded partners online.