14 DAY TRIAL // Niche social networking sites have developed quickly and cater to all kinds of customers. Brandon Lee is one of the smart few that first noticed the potential of dating sites targeting the upper class.
In 2006, he founded SeekingArrangement, providing a means for the extremely rich and the extremely attractive to meet.
The intro to the website elegantly describes it as “the elite sugar daddy dating site for those seeking mutually beneficial relationships.”
You can join the site by either being a “Modern daddy” or a “Goal seeking sugar baby.” If you become a sugar daddy, you will be “a mentor, sponsor or benefactor” and you can post a description of yourself and a personal ad.
One daddy describes himself as being “a perpetual partier”, while another as being “a great bet.” In any case, all promise an adventurous time to the lucky “baby” that will get in touch with them.
If you are “attractive, intelligent, ambitious and goal oriented” you may just be the perfect “sugar baby.” In an interview for New York Times Lee says that, as tuition gets more expensive, more and more college students are applying for this “position.”
“When I started the site roughly one in four of what I call my 'sugar babies' were at college; now, that figure is closer to four out of 10,” he explains.
In order to weed out unfit suiters, the girls can post the monthly amount they expect their dream millionaire to supply in order for them to feel “pampered” and “empowered,” to paraphrase the category description on the website.
This trend has been developing since '06, however. “The U.S. Dating Services Market” report shows that, in the States, sugar daddy sites account for 10 percent of the online dating market. Similar sites are now popping up online left and right.
You have to appreciate how these websites really put the cards on the table. In the real world, telling someone you've just met what your targeted “monthly amount” is would make you a gold digger, if not actually worse.
The fact that this option is available on a dating website makes finding a partner a bit more realistic.