Shoes, Sex and Soulmates

Shoes, Sex and Soulmates

Engage Survey Reveals True Cultural Impact of Sex and the City(R) on US Singles

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Engage (http://www.engage.com/), the Internet's first social dating community, has released the findings of its Engage Sex and the City Survey, which reveal the show's cultural impact on American singles and how they value their closest relationships. The results reflect an interesting shift in behavior from the HBO show's premiere on June 6, 1998 and the U.S. Sex and the City: The Movie premiere on May 30, 2008.

Some surprising survey results include:

Singles' true soulmates

-- 39 percent of women said they already had or would end up with one (or
several) women friends as their "soulmate" in life instead of a man.
-- 59 percent say that Sex and the City reminded them how much they rely
on their friends for dating advice and perspective. Women were more
likely than men to say this.

If the shoe fits ... buy it

-- 30 percent of women said their shoe purchases were influenced by Sex
and the City

Outlook on love

-- 80 percent believe Sex and the City made it more acceptable for women
to have fun dating and worry less about finding a committed
relationship. Women were more likely than men to believe this.
-- 52 percent say Sex and the City influenced their dating life.
12 percent said it was a negative influence (men were more likely than
women to say the influence was negative) and 40 percent said it was a
positive influence (women were more likely than men to say the
influence was positive). 55 percent of single women said the show
influenced them to "date like men."
-- 43 percent believe Sex and the City made it more acceptable for women
to be unfaithful in their romantic relationships. Men were more likely
than women to believe this.
-- 51 percent agree with this statement made by Sex and the City
character, Samantha Jones: "Who we are in bed is who we are in life.
I've never met a man who was bad in bed who was good at life." Men were
more likely than women to agree with this statement.
-- 36 percent said they borrowed ideas from Sex and the City and used them
in their dating life. Women were more likely than men to say this.
-- 50 percent of respondents believe that women who are big Sex and the
City fans are more likely to have sex on a first date. Men were more
likely than women to believe this.

"Sex and the City, along with the introduction of dating reality shows like ABC's The Bachelor, socialize dating," said Trish McDermott, Vice President of Love at Engage. "Suddenly, everyone was talking about the dating choices others make -- like breaking up via Post-It note -- and learning vicariously through them. Women especially came to realize the value, insight and perspective their women friends added to the daily challenges of dating. This highly collaborative and thoroughly entertaining dating culture-shift inspired the social dating experience at Engage. Singles in the Engage dating community have fun with their friends as they check out, gossip about, vote for, meet and then debrief about other Engage singles, much as the Sex and the City girls have done over all these years."

Engage research indicates that the Sex and the City style of group input on dating is vital to building relationships, as half of all marriages in the United States are likely to be the result of an introduction made by a friend, co-worker or family member. Friends use Engage's Play Matchmaker(TM) features to make introductions between their friends and other eligible singles, whether in the Engage community or in their address book.

The complete Sex and the City survey results can be found at http://blog.engage.com/

Sex and the City is a registered trademark of HBO.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Engage

CONTACT: Monica Appelbe of LEWIS PR, +1-415-992-4400,
engage@lewispr.com, for Engage

Web site:

http://www.engage.com/

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