Tag: Featured News

Global Love Report – July 28, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Mama Knows Best is launching new kind of matchmaking app created in partnership with Masa Israel Journey. The app is currently in beta and it’s aimed at matchmakers to help singles find their match.

However, the term “matchmaker” is valid for anyone, according to the app. So family members and friends can register to be one. The app’s main aim is to be a space where “matchmakers” can interact with each other and find matches for singles.

Matchmakers can create a profile for themselves and also for the singles that they’re planning to match. The singles’ profiles can be shared to other matchmakers as well.

The app is offering something different from other dating sites in that it incorporates a matchmaker’s experience and insights to the selection process. And it’s also the matchmaker who will tap on the “yes” button in order to confirm the match.

For the time being, the matchmaking app is only available in the United States.

To read the full article, please click here.

Original article written by Jewish News Syndicate.

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(Image source: Unsplash, Sara Kurfess)

Global Love Report – July 28, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Although the marriage rate took a hit last year due to the pandemic, the number of Corona marriages in Japan are increasing. Furthermore, successful matchmaking cases have been high. “Corona marriages” are marriages between couples who met after the Covid-19 pandemic began.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there were 525,490 marriages in 2020, which is 73,500 less than 2019.

However, the number of singles interested in marriage is on the rise.

Data from the Japan Marriage Agency Federation, which has about 2,800 offices throughout Japan, state that the number of matchmaking cases were about 35,000 per month on average before Corona (November 2019 to January 2020). But the numbers dropped to about 21,000 in April 2020 after the first emergency declaration.

Fortunately, the numbers have gradually recovered since then. In May of this year, the number actually reached 46,414—its highest ever.

According to a PR Manager, Risa Terakado, that after the Lehman Brothers disaster and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, when social unrest occurred, the number of people trying to find a partner increased.

As for the success rates of the matchmaking cases and the rise of Covid marriages, according to a matchmaker at IBJ, the success or failure can be determined on one’s attitude towards the pandemic. Successful couples did not have Covid at the forefront of their mind.

One couple met at least once a week, including dates at home, until the man proposed. The couple managed to find something that worked for them. “If there were limitations, I tried to make it work within that,” said the woman.

For the full article (in Japanese), please click here.

Original article written by AERA.

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(Image source: Unsplash, Beatriz Perez Moya)

Global Love Report – July 21, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Thanks to prolonged lockdowns, singles are finding love—or at the very least, a date—in the last place some may think to find it. Vaccine centers wouldn’t be the first place you would think of when you think “dating hotspot”. Yet in certain regions, that’s exactly what they’ve become.

A Korean school teacher reportedly met another teacher while waiting in line. He initially started talking to her to break the silence. However, after finding things in common, they have since gone out on a couple of dates.

More and more young people are going to vaccine centers as vaccination drives expand. Of course, since people on online dating platforms have divulged their desire to have a date who is vaccinated, that is driving more people to vaccine centers.

In the UK, people are actively searching for a date at these centers. One person even noted that people were jumping out of cabs to line up when they see the “dating prospects” waiting in line for a jab.

In places like Beijing and Singapore, more singles are chatting up others while waiting or after they’ve received the vaccine. Some have even advised others to dress up while lining up because of the potential to meet someone.

For the full article, please click here.

Original article written by Insider.

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(Image source: Pexels, Gustavo Fring)

Global Love Report – July 21, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Korean marriage company, Ennoble, is providing matchmaking services for Koreans residing in the United States, as well as Korean-Americans. Specifically Korean students and Korean nationals who are residents.

Through its branches in Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta, Ennoble is providing personal and customized consulting services to those living in those places.

In fact, it has also partnered with a number of associations of Korean students as well as international student alumni organizations of such prestigious universities as Harvard, Princeton, and MIT.

The Korean marriage company also verifies their members’ academic, family, and economic backgrounds. Some of the services they also offer is helping to arrange meetings for their overseas clients when they come to Korea. And being mindful of the short time-span that these members may have during their stay.

Not only is Ennoble providing matchmaking services for Koreans, they are also supporting Korean students and alumni with regular meetings so they could support and encourage each other.

For the full article (in Korean), please click here.

Original article written by Social Value.

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(Image source: Pixabay, pmsjsj)

Global Love Report – July 21, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Matchmakers in Ireland are seeing a dramatic increase in enquiries from singletons in the last year or so. Their reasoning? 80% of people usually meet their potential dates within their social circles, at work or at their university campus.

Thanks to the pandemic, these face-to-face options are no longer available so they’ve resorted to going online.

That being said, matchmakers in Ireland are finding that more and more singles are actually moving away from online platforms. Though, according to one matchmaker, one of the reasons why it’s difficult for people to find a match is because they’ve restricted their search. One woman restricted her match to a maximum of 15 kilometers (over 9 miles) away from her location.

Intro Matchmaking reported that they’re seeing an increase of 150% in June for their year-to-year numbers. Feargal Harrington, its Co-Founder mentioned within the last 16 months they’ve had a massive increase in interest.

So much so that they’re actually turning people away every week. Mostly because, according to Harrington, they will only take clients who are looking for something long-term but who are also putting an effort into the search. They would only take on people that they know they can match.

Harrington mentioned that a lot of people are leaving online platforms for his agency because they can’t find what they’re looking for on those platforms.

For the full article, please click here.

Original article written by Sunday World.

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(Image source: Pexels, Lukas Kloeppel)

Global Love Report – July 14, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Sylvie Bourhis’ idea of mobile matchmaking has nothing to do with apps or even a phone! This French matchmaker decided to use a camper van in order to stay in touch with her clients while restrictions are in place due to the pandemic.

And she’s seeing several benefits from using the camper. Because she didn’t decorate the “Love Mobile” with hearts or anything ostentatious, people were reassured. So even if she did go to clients’ houses, other people would have no clue that it’s really a mobile office.

What’s more, being able to drive around clients to see the scenery is making them more open. They’re able to share more easily and they stay longer than before.

Bourhis has even decided to use the camper as her main work space—she’s going to stop renting office spaces in a number of cities and only keeping their main office in Brest.

For the full article (in French) about this mobile matchmaking venture, click here.

Original article written by Hit West. 

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(Image source: Unsplash, Anders Nielsen)

Global Love Report – July 14, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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Virtual Reality Dating may be the next evolution of online dating. And some have argued that it could replace both online and face-to-face dates.

According to a report by Imperial College Business School in the UK and eHarmony UK, better internet speeds may finally make virtual reality dating possible.

There are plenty of possibilities with VR dating, as well. Because not only can people pick wherever they want as their dating spot, physical distance is less of an issue.

Furthermore, people can experiment with however they want their virtual self to look like. Whether they’d like it to be more realistic and matching their own looks or to change it completely.

Also, with regards to dating spots and activities, people can also choose more exhilarating dates. And because of “excitation transfer”, the adrenalin rush that they get from an exciting date may cause them to be more attractive to their date and vice versa.

But one of the things mentioned is in terms of date coaching. If someone have a date coach, it’s possible for them to accompany the person on their date—without being seen. So, the coach will be able to directly communicate with the client and give them advice during their date.

Of course, there’s also the question of whether or not a dating coach is tagging along on a date should be divulged to the other person on that date. Because it’s possible they would refuse to have a third person there. And if the dater doesn’t divulge it, then is it ethical for the other person?

For the full article, click here.

Original article written by Psychology Today.

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(Image source: Pexels, Andrea Piacquadio)

Global Love Report – July 14, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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284 Japanese matchmakers working at marriage agencies in Japan replied to a survey conducted by marriage company IBJ.

Becoming Japanese Matchmakers

According to the survey, since the pandemic, the number of marriage agencies being opened as a “side business” increased by 14%.
Of those that started the agency as a “side business”, 40% turned it into their main business.

The Japanese matchmakers were also asked the reason why they decided to start their matchmaking business. The most common reason (40%) is because they thought it’s a worthwhile job.

Some of the other reasons included: it allows them to use their past experiences, the structure of work was similar to my previous work, spouse recommended it to them because the spouse thought it would suit them, and so forth.

Respondents were asked what type of characteristic should a matchmaker have. 39% believe that they need to be a good listener, 27% believe they like to take care of people, and 22% said like to be involved with people.

Business during the Pandemic

The respondents were also asked how their business were impacted by the pandemic. 70% reported that their work has changed since the pandemic. They’ve had to switch to online counseling more instead of face-to-face.

More than 70% of the respondents also said that the pandemic has actually had a positive impact on their business. With some of the respondents noting that loneliness has driven some clients to matchmaking agencies and people are more desperate to be married.

Others noted that because the meetings are now online, clients aren’t limited to just one meeting per day and were able to have more.

One the most common reasons why clients decided to use a matchmaking agency (62%) is because they feel impatient, especially regarding their age and their surroundings. So, they decided to meet someone and get married. 38% of the respondents said that they felt the need to use an agency because they weren’t going out due to the pandemic and were unable to meet new people.

Previous Job

One of the questions asked was what type of industry was the matchmaker in before they decided to pursue matchmaking. The most common industries were: manufacturing; trading, distribution and retail; bridal; and education. See the graph below to see the full range of industries.

For the full article (in Japanese), please click here.

Original article written by PR Times. 

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(Image source: Unsplash, Kobu Agency)

Global Love Report – July 7, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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The Japanese marriage company, IBJ, conducted a survey of “Life after Marriage”. 986 responded to the survey. The respondents were previously registered with a marriage agency under IBJ’s direction.

60.4% of respondents said that they had a wedding ceremony. 24.9% were planning one, whereas 14.7% said they were not planning one.
Of those who have had a wedding ceremony, 41.3% said that they met through a marriage agency.

45.8% have gone to a honeymoon, 23.3% said they were planning one. 30.8%, however, did not have one because it was difficult to plan one due to the restrictions.

On their financial life after marriage: 21.8% have purchased a home after marrying, 24.1% are planning on purchasing one, whereas 52.4% have not purchased one yet.

In terms of how they feel towards their partner after marriage, 46.8% replied that they liked their partner more and 40% said that their level of affection towards their partner has not changed after marrying.

For the full article (in Japanese), please click here.

Original article written by My Navi News. 

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(Image source: Unsplash, Yoav Aziz)

Global Love Report – July 7, 2021
A review article by Pamela Stephanie

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A soulmate festival in Italy was held on the 19th of June in Padua. The festival is based on the festivals held in South American countries and in Portugal.

The aim of the popular festival is so that singles can “find meaning in life and a soulmate”. This is according to Father Oliviero, the rector of the Basilica of Padua, who hails from Portugal. The mass is open for singles between 30 to 50 years old and the entrance is free.

Because of the pandemic, the seating was reduced from 815 to 350. More seating are provided outside, along with a big screen.

The previous soulmate festival—before last year’s break due to Covid—was attended by 600 singletons from all over Italy, though the festival’s waiting list was in the thousands.

But the festival isn’t even the only reason why singles flock to Padua. On June 13th, during the feast of the patron saint, thousands of young women from all over the world flock to Padua.

The museum inside the church has many keepsakes donated by women who have successfully found a match after visiting the Basilica. These include: locks of hair, wedding dresses, weddings rings, and shoes from their firstborn baby.

To read the full article (in Italian), please click here.

Original article written by Corriere del Veneto.

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(Image source: Unsplash, Stefano Segato)