Young South Africans are increasingly going online to find love, according to new figures.
Online matchmaking is no longer stigmatised according to Felix Erken, managing director of the Junk Mail Publishing Group
.
New users are signing up to online dating services every day, around a third of whom are under 25.
Mr Erken said classified ads have become "sexier" and provide a safe way to meet single, likeminded people.
"Younger people are just more open-minded. They are more open to trying new things and as part of the global village they have their eye on social trends internationally," he said.
"They also don't seem to be bogged-down by historical ideologies that used to govern social behaviour in the more conservative South Africa just a decade or two ago."
South Africa is not the only emerging market for online dating. In China, the industry is forecast to be worth $80 million by next year, according to Shanghai-based iResearch.
