Online Mating

ONLINE MATING…
the next “online dating”?

Online Mating?

• Websites like PollenTree & Modafamily offer a way for people eager to have a child to “hook up” with someone to have a baby and co-parent with *minus* the dating relationship.
• The decision on how to make the baby (surrogate, artificial insemination, actual intercourse) is left up to the individuals.
• The sites also offer a way for men and women looking to donate their sperm and eggs to find matches with parents.

“They were starting to feel the pressure of the biological clock, still single, and looking for a partner they can have a child with, whether they were married or not.”

Modafamily’s CEO Ivan Fatovic on why he created the site. He said he was inspired to do so by friends who put off having kids to focus on their careers.

BIG PICTURE

• Fewer Marriages: In 1978, nearly 60% of 18-to-34-year-olds were married. In 2018, just about 30% were married.
• Fewer Babies: In 2018, the U.S. birthrate fell to a 32-year low, *BUT* birth rates rose for women in late 30s / early 40s.
• $$$: According to latest gov’t data, it costs approx. $234,000 to raise a child.
• FYI: America is the only developed country without a mandated paid leave policy for new moms.

“It’s a controversial approach to creating a family and there are people who balk at it, but the idealized version of a man and woman falling in love is shortsighted.”

Jenica Andersen (38), who met the soon-to-be-father of her baby via PollenTree. They first talked on the phone, then met in person, and after going through medical testing and legal consultations, decided to become parents together. Twist of fate? They fell in love (not a promised result).

LOVE American Style? Online mating may be new, but online dating is definitely not. 30% of adults have tried it and 12% have been in a committed relationship with someone they met online. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Are co-parenting websites the logical next step?