People with free time tend to spend it improving their love lives. That's according to Shayan Zadeh, chief executive officer of the online dating platform Zoosk.com.
"When the government shutdown happened, we noticed an interesting dynamic," he said. "In the first week of the shutdown, we saw a 91 percent increase of people in the D.C. metro area expressing interest in meeting someone online through our carousal feature."
During the second week of the shutdown, the increase went to 110 percent, said Zadeh. He said he didn't have other data, such as how many people this involved.
Online dating has become more socially accepted as a place for meeting others interested in forging relationships, according to a recent Pew study.
Since 2005, 38 percent of Americans who are "single and looking" have said that they have used an online dating site, according to the study released Oct. 21.
Zoosk.com, which started in 2007, is one of several online dating sites, including eHarmony and Match.com.
--By Erika Santoro.
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