Some executives here spend so much time on their work that it is hampering their social lives, and many have turned to dating agencies to help them make a match, said five major players here.
Executives and professionals make up between 60 and 95 per cent of these five companies' clientele.
Heads of the five companies estimate they garner 40 per cent of the dating industry in all.
This was told to my paper on the sidelines of the launch of the Association of Dating Agencies and Matchmakers (Singapore), or Adams, yesterday.
Executives using dating services are in their mid-20s to late-30s, and include doctors, lawyers and teachers. They put in long hours at work, and may even be overseas as often as two weeks out of every month, said chief executive of Singles Mingle, Mr Kelvin Ong, 35.
'Constrained social circles' is another main factor, said Go- MovieDate.com founder Matthew Tan, 34.
Ms Lydia Gan, 34, the co-founder of consultancy Clique Wise and dating portal Wow-Her.com, agreed: 'After you graduate, you mostly mix around with colleagues, and there is a social stigma about dating co-workers, in case you mess up your career.'
Young singles may also be more open to dating agencies and matchmakers because of changing social norms, said Ms Violet Lim, 28, founder of Eteract. com and Lunch Actually.
She said: 'This is a generation open to outsourcing.
'Now, when people need to meet new people, why not outsource their social calendar to someone else?'
