The US government shutdown has apparently caused an upsurge in members of “sugar daddy” dating sites.
SeekingArrangement.com, a website which sets up rich men with beautiful women, has reported a 50% increase in new user sign-ups since the federal government shutdown on 29th September.
The site said: “The week of September 29th marked the highest growth in daily sign ups in over six months, with over 13,947 women joining to find a Sugar Daddy.”
This rise in sign-ups came as a surprise to Seeking Arrangement, as September and October are historically slow months for the site.
Jennifer Gwynn, the site’s PR manager, told NPR: “For us to peak at the end of the month in September, and this week in general, it makes no sense for us to have a growth like this.
“Half of the new members are single moms, so we’re thinking that it’s tied directly to the government shutdown, since programs like WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), that help more than 9 million moms, have been stalled.
“It would make no sense for growth otherwise.”
NPR reports another similar site, WhatsYourPrice.com, which auctions first dates with beautiful women to well-off men, has seen their daily sign-ups increase from 500 to 900.
But does this spike in numbers correlate to the government shutdown, or is this a case of well-managed and clever PR from both sites?
If so, then it’s a job well done, because it certainly seems like a believable consequence of the shutdown – especially when you consider the tendency some US news channels have for exaggeration of such political events.
The site also include in their evidence that the increase only came from within the US.
CEO of Seeking Arrangement, Brandon Wade, said: “Every time the government makes a decision that affects the financial well-being of millions of people, our site continues to thrive.”