The Economics of Dating?

I'm a night owl. I'm usually getting my second (third? fourth?) wind around 10:00PM and there are way too many nights that I end up staying up much later than I need to. And I subsequently pay for it the following morning when I drag myself jump cheerfully out of bed at an hour that most people find acceptable and I find down right painful.

Watching "Nightline" is usually part of my attempt to slow down and get ready for bed and I was blown away by a story Monday night about dating in a down economy. Am I the only one who was unaware that dating was highly sensitive to the economic climate? I must have missed that in B-School.

Now, I can completely appreciate that people might not spend as much on expensive restaurants or other activities, but according to these folks we are in the midst of serious dating reform. Apparently the dating behaviors of flush times are no longer acceptable.

(Um...I'm trying hard to follow along at home, but I'm just not getting it.)

You can click the link above to read the full story, but here are are few gems that I need to share to bring you into the twilight zone with me. The love guru quoted through the piece is Rachel Greenwald, dating coach, matchmaker and author. She cheerfully explained that "there doesn't have to be a monetary value associated with the perfect date; it's all about the company. People are doing different things, and now they value partners who can bring more depth to the relationship instead of just a hot babe."

(Well, hello Captain Obvious. Glad you could join us.)

She went on to explain that it used to be OK for your online dating profile to say you wanted someone who makes more than $150K, but in this dating economy it's better to say that you want someone who has a kind heart.

I suppose that's it's OK to say whatever you want on your profile--and I'll admit that I don't have one so I might not be an expert on this point--but I feel pretty confident that if the crux of your profile is resting on the financial status of your potential prince charming, well, let's just say you might expect to get what you pay for.

According to Nightline, "People are not looking for style and flash and hookups as much as they were," Greenwald said. "Now they're looking for substance and someone who can be with them in good times and, more often, bad times."

So if I'm catching on and making sense of all this, it sounds like one of the effects of the economic recession is a renewed search for substance, character and integrity in a mate.

(Sounds to me like things are looking up.)