The aging study was conducted at Purdue University.The research team interviewed about 500 people between the ages of 55 and 74 between 1995 and 2005. At the study’s outset, the results indicated that most of those studied felt about 12 years younger than their chronological age. The insight was that people feel younger because of the extreme emphasis on being youthful in today’s culture.

“People want to feel younger, and so when they do inevitably age they can lose a lot of confidence in their cognitive abilities.” Additionally, the study found that women were more prone to aging stereotypes- which is pretty obvious.

So, the old cliches really are true….YES- that you really are as old as you feel!!

“If you feel old beyond your own chronological years you are probably going to experience a lot of the downsides that we associate with aging,” writes co-author Marcus Schafer.” But if you are older and maintain a sense of being younger, then that gives you an edge in maintaining a lot of the abilities you prize.”

What more can we say…get down with the internet generation and get online to find some great people younger than you to make sure you stay and feel young. For friendship and romance in your fifties, sixties or seventies, search and join for free at SeniorDating-UK.co.uk

We know there are lots of you out there and we’d love to hear more of your stories and experiences. If you are dipping your toe in the water for the first time online, write to us at www.seniordating-uk.co.uk  and we’d love to share your stories and experiences on our blog.

We read with interest the latest news from Australia…senior retirement facilities are becoming hotbeds of passion as many senior citizens are enjoying active sex lives ..often with more than one partner.

The article published on 12th July 2010 shares research and findings from care homes in Australia:

Senior citizens in Australia’s old-age homes and retirement facilities are leading active but ‘risky’ sex lives and most of them have more than one active partner.

A research in Australia, which surveyed 320 men and women, has found that sexual activity among the 82-87 age group is “reasonably common”, while online dating by people over 50 was also growing.

However, experts from the Council on the Ageing say that the seniors need to be schooled in safe sex, and have called for workshops and guideline policies to be implemented into aged-care and retirement facilities to help staff deal with “promiscuous behaviour”, The Age reported.

Old-age homes have reported a jump in the number of over 65s leading an active sex life, including multiple partners, and they were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour than their children, Council spokeswoman Anne-Maire Elias said.

“They were a generation who missed out on all the safe-sex education,” she said. “We love that these older people are sexually active but, with an increase in Viagra and multiple partners, aged-care facilities should welcome safe-sex workshops for their residents.”

Ken Gleeson, a behavioural consultant, who is scheduled to publish a document titled “Sexuality in the Elderly: Intimacy and Sexual Policy”, said staff tended to put sexual behaviour among the elderly in the “too hard” category.

“There is a widespread belief among workers that the elderly should not be participating in sexual activities,” he said.

The full article can be found at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Life/Relationships/Man-Woman/Senior-Australians-lead-risky-sex-lives/articleshow/6158973.cms

So, if you feel you are missing out and want to find some partners for companionship, friendship, or as in Australia something a little more!…why not join our recommended Senior Dating site – its free to join and browse without commitment or cost  - you only pay if you want to read or send messages – click this link for the mature dating website for the over sixties

Everything can feel like its moved on…the way you meet people has changed, you have fears, you have hang ups..oh perhaps more money and a confidence in certain circumstances, but the whole dating and friendship thing can seem daunting.

Fear not. Many have taken the plunge again and would love to take you by the hand and steer you through – take courage and hear the experiences and stories of others who have taken that first step. We’ve listened and have compiled some of the insights we thought would be worth sharing with you if you’re looking to dip your toe in the water again.

Feel Like It’s About You

Being a part of a couple for a while will certainly take some of your individuality away. Take advantage of this time on your own to find that individuality again. Learn new hobbies, find old friends, and treat yourself with respect.

The Future is a Fresh Chapter

Your past is a fundamental part of you and who you are. That said you are starting a new chapter, a new leaf. Let go of the past. If you have troubled feelings from the past, once you work through these feelings, you’ll find yourself in a much better place to go on with your life.

Find Your Interests

Did you have a passion for walking or dancing before. Pick up that map again, put on your dancing shoes and get out there. You may find that you can rediscover yourself through those interests.

Find new interests

Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to paint or go kayaking. Taking up new interests now will help you rediscover qualities about yourself you may have forgotten. It will also get you out and meeting new people.

Learn to enjoy your own company

After living with someone for a while, it can be difficult to enjoy doing things alone. Find ways to have fun on your own.

Keep Fit and Love Yourself

Take care of yourself. If you’ve gained a few extra pounds, find a way to get some exercise. Eat healthily and take time to pamper yourself. If you feel good about the way you look and feel, others will too.

Reconnect with old friends

Track down old friends with whom you’ve lost touch over the years. Whether you find you’ve still got lots in common or you’ve both moved on, it will likely enrich your life anyway.

There are lots of others refinding their passions in life…be part of the fun…you only have one life…make the most of it…go on ..get involved and find some amazing people just like you.

For more Seniors Dating Service information and Dating Experiences, read the SeniorDating-UK.co.uk blog and please do let us have your experiences and thoughts.

If you’re in your fifties, you may take the view that life begins one year of where you are…life begins at 51,52, 53,54…you get the idea…you’re wise enough to know how it works or not worry at all and just get on with it.

We love to hear stories of adventurers into their fifties looking for friends to share time with – Saga holidays are booming…join the Saga rose for a 2 week cruise around the Mediterranean. Would’nt you fancy sitting on the sun deck with some other friends over fifty sharing stories, swapping experiences and sipping on a glass of champagne?

Don’t wait any longer, there are lots of like minded people out there look for friends over fifty – login and find some new friends at Senior Dating or Seniors Dating Agency.

If you’re looking for over 50’s/ over 60’s friends and the natural friendship extension is dating for the over fifites/ sixties:

- Would you go on holiday with your different sex friend ( and I mean only Friend at this stage).  Think this through in some detail…. what would you do and more importantly how would you feel if He/She was up dancing all night and left you sitting there with your drink. What would happen if you or your friend were to meet someone and one of you were left to walk about for the rest of the holiday alone?

Some answers we’ve heard are…

I’ve been on holiday with my different sex friend (just friend), and we had a great time. Why on earth would there be a problem if one of us fancied someone while on the holiday? That happens whether your holiday companion is same sex or not.

Depends who was paying for the holiday!!

It is down to the context and expectations. As a friend, I’d expect them to be considerate and think about how I felt.

We’d love to hear your views…what would do..have you had that experience…share your experiences here on the blog or in the discussion forums at Senior Dating UK

It is an unfortunate fact of life that there are some scammers out there looking to take advantage of genuine online pensioners dating. Many online daters, especially seniors with experience feel they are too smart to get caught out by a dating scammer, they believe they can easily spot a bogus dating profile or photo.

One question to ask yourself is “does the photo in the online dating profile look too good to be true?  If it does then it probably is, they simply steal them from modelling agency websites.

Fortunately, at Senior Dating UK, the site is managed by White Label Dating who have developed very sophisticated processes and technology to spot these issues so you dont have to. Try it – see for yourself – always beware but dont let that stop you enjoying  the process of meeting new people.

1. Get informed and know whats going on

This isn’t the dating scene your younger selves were used to.  There are books, CDs, coaches, courses and any number of other resources available elsewhere on the web. But save yourself some money and try signing up to a site like Senior Dating UK for free and see what everyone else is doing. Read other profiles, see the diaries that people write, see the photos and see first hand how it all works. Offline, speak to your friends and see what they are doing online – you may be surprised to know how many of your friends and family are already finding friendship and romance online.

2. Have a dating discussion over a coffee with close friends of yours

Maybe it’s just us but we like to have a second opinion if I’m really interested in someone. My friends and family have the ability to see aspects of someone’s personality that I may not. Good close friends are always honest and candid about what they see and if they don’t like my date, they’ll say so. It’s not that their opinions are gospel, but they do offer  the opportunity to view a date from a different perspective.

3. Put your best foot forward.

For online dating spend time writing a profile that shows you in the best light. Get a friend’s opinion on the final draft. And if you don’t have a great photo, ask that same friend to snap a nice candid shot for you to post.

Have a simple and flattering first date outfit. When you have that first date, you don’t have to agonize over what to where, how it fits, how you’ll look. You’ll already know and be able to head to meet someone new with a little less stress. And the best thing to show on the first date is the real you. At 50+, who has time for being anything but authentic.

Try these simple tips and get online today to start connecting and meeting new people for friendship and romance – go dating with over 50’s seniors online today.

To this end, we regularly publish the experiences from the provider, White Label Dating who manage and run the website Senior Dating. The latest experiences from the support team and customer feedback is all below:

Well it’s that time again, just a quick update on how the support team have been getting on. Not too much is new with our busy support boys and girls. It’s just another normal week in the office as far as everyone is concerned. We are so proud to have a team that works so hard replying to those emails and telephone calls. Also our support manager Jessica is going to be celebrating her 25th birthday so the support team are all looking forward to celebrating this with her too – Happy Birthday Jessica!

Monday 9th – Sunday 15t Nov 09

Member Query of the week 

We have had a lot of members asking us for advice on how to make the most out of their profiles this past week, with Christmas just around the corner our members are searching to find that special person to spend the festive season with so below is the advice we have been giving them:

1) We advise that members update their profile as often as possible (i.e photos and diary entries) This will mean that other members are drawn to their profile as they will have new photos or diary entries to view.

2) Write as much about yourself and what you are looking for in your personal profile. A lot of members do not know what to write when it comes to themselves, and so we do advise for those members on the general network to use the profile coach which will ask a series of questions before creating your profile text.

3) As a way of standing out from other profiles, we encourage our members to send gifts to other members, If you would like to do this however you will need to purchase credits which are a type of online currency, but this is a great way to break the ice

Customer satisfaction rate

96.2%

Good customer experience feedback for you!

Here are 2 quotes for you to look at that your Customer Support Team has received this week.

We received a message from Diane, Single50s.co.uk
Diane: “I have to say your support section and response time is absolutely excellent. I could not have wished for better help in using this site and even the site is extremely good. Well set out and easy to use. And I do thank you for making my introduction to Internet dating so good. Diane”

And we have another message to share from Lance, FriendsOfYours.com
Lance: “I’m delighted to tell you that I have found a smashing Yorkshire lass on this site. We’re in a strong relationship and she has decided to come and live with me in Derby. She is Christine from West Yorkshire. We’ll be writing a paragraph in your Success Stories section soon. We would never have met but for your site, thank you so much. So you can revert me back to basic membership. Thanks

We heard today that Jamie Oliver is to launch a dating service to leverage his brand – we’re not sure if this is to be a general dating site or whether it is focused on the oap seniors dating experience. We read this and also the latest dating headlines about who Rihanna is dating and whether Natalie Imbruglia is dating Jay Kay or not.

Our observation is that the perception the media presents is one of the online dating being all about younger people – these are where all the headlines are focused. Given that oaps/ pensioners/ seniors dating are the fastest growing online segment, it seems unfair that the perception is all about the younger market.

If you have some online experiences and views, we’d love to hear them and publish them here at the Senior Dating blog – just submit your comments and views here and we’d love to share them.