Love is in the air -- well, at least in matchmaking chat rooms.
Resident researchers with Match.com told the Daily Mail that the week leading up to New Year's is the busiest week of the year for online daters.
Kate Taylor, a "resident relationship expert" at the company, told the outlet that this is "the time of year when we vow to eat more healthily, exercise more frequently and budget better."
She continued, "As the Christmas festivities calm down and we re-evaluate our lives, it's little wonder that looking for a partner will top the list of New Year priorities for many single people. If you make sure you're online during the busiest time of the whole year you'll have an even better chance of meeting someone special."
The peak of the dating season was actually Wednesday evening, at precisely 8:52 p.m., CNET notes.
Perhaps in honor of this Internet dating "peak season," Metro U.K. published a list of tips for those searching for digital chemistry in 2013. (Among the tips: think before you type, avoid platitudes, smile in your pictures and list your actual height.)
With roughly 1 out of every 5 new relationships beginning online, according to Scientific American, Internet dating doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.
However, an extensive study published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public In Interest found that while Internet dating can be a good thing, it's not more effective in terms of forming lasting relationships than other face-to-face first encounters, Time reports.
“There is no reason to believe that online dating improves romantic outcomes,” Harry Reis, a professor of psychology at University of Rochester and study’s co-author, told Time. “It may yet, and someday some service might provide good data to show it can, but there is certainly no evidence to that right now."
“You can’t look at a piece of paper and know what it’s like to interact with someone,” Reis added. “Picking a partner is not the same as buying a pair of pants.”
Will you be looking for love online in 2013? Tell us your thoughts below.