In recent weeks, dating and social sites have made news for all the wrong reasons, from Ashley Madison’s hacking to the Tinder vs Vanity Fair rivalry. Two New Jersey residents strive to change the online dating culture.
Their names are Julie Surrey and Gary Spivek. They founded dating website FidelityDating.com. It’s the anti-Ashley Madison site. The Ashley Madison site says, “Life is short, have an affair”. Fidelity Dating’s site motto is, “Love is precious. Stay faithful”. Fidelity Dating is geared toward people who have been victims of infidelity and adultery, or people looking for monogamous long term relationships . Founder Julie Surrey knows what it’s like to be cheated on. Her ordeal inspired her to start this site. ?In 2006, Surrey borrowed her boyfriend’s laptop. She discovered the man she dated for years had married someone else behind Surrey’s back. Needless to say, Surrey quickly confronted the long-term boyfriend and ended the relationship. Surrey’s co-founder Gary Spivek has been married, to the same wife, for 19 years. This website pairs potential couples based on age, education, religion, and other areas of life. It’s free to join now, but come January 2016, it will cost $29.99 a month, with discounts for regular members. Fidelity Dating started in January 2015. It has several thousand members now, but I expect that number to rise.
A few thousand may seem like nothing compared to the 37 million members Ashley Madison has. But I think the tide is turning. They’re a lot of people that have been hurt in previous relationships that could use this. And there’s a of people who aren’t into hooking up. Something tells me if members of Ashley Madison get exposed, all hell is going to break loose for a lot of people. Those who’ve been jilted will flock to sites like Fidelity Dating where they’ll feel safer. Will dating sites that encourage serious relationships overtake those promoting hookups?
Disclaimer: Computer Geeks is not in the business of advertising, promoting, or slandering any dating or social website. This blog simply reports tech and online trends and then gives educated stances on such trends.