While the terror-laden news cycle may make it hard for you to believe, we are now living in the most peaceful, healthy, and prosperous time in human history. Consequently, this progress has had a direct impact on our lives, with people now living wealthier and longer lives.
According to one report, Human lifespans are increasing by an average of three years with every new generation. However, with this positive change in the world, we have also seen an increase in new world problems like midlife crises and increasing loneliness, especially amongst seniors.
The most recent report by the National Poll on Healthy Aging reports that up to a third of US seniors are lonely.
However, the good news is that senior dating has its perks and peculiarities that can make it an excellent choice for all parties involved. As we age, we tend to build up a firmer sense of our interest and identity thanks to a wealth of experience from life and our history of past relationships. Consequently, senior dating can be significantly more straightforward than other forms, as the participants relatively know themselves and what they want more.
With online dating, seniors can also scour the web for potential mates who are a perfect fit for their particular situation and interests. However, there is nothing worse than signing up for a popular dating platform only to discover that the entire user base is in entirely different age groups.
Thankfully, niche sites like OurTime and SeniorsMeet now exist that cater specifically to this demographic, offering you a welcoming platform to meet like-minded mature members and establish connections.
OurTime: Online Dating Site for Men and Women Over 50
OurTime is a niche dating platform that caters to daters over the age of 50, offering a safe space where seniors can connect with other seniors for companionship, dating, marriage, or any other peculiar arrangement.
The platform is a product of People Media, a company that runs several niche-dating websites like SingleParentMeet, SeniorPeopleMeet, and SeniorsMeet. With OurTime, the company aims to create a community for seniors where members can interact freely with other platform users and establish connections that will improve their quality of life.
Since its launch in 2011, OurTime has grown to become one of the largest senior dating websites, attracting a sizable user base and receiving up to 8 million site visitors per month.
OurTime understands that the dating scene is entirely different for seniors. As such, the platform allows users more leeway than a regular dating site, giving site members the ability to tailor the experience to match their preferences.
Nevertheless, like any regular dating platform, OurTime offers services like a matching engine that provides daily matches, detailed profiles that showcase the personality of the users, and automated questions and information that can help you get the conversation started.
Who is OurTime For?
Love can be hard to find at any age, but the world of senior dating can be particularly tricky to navigate both offline and online.
Many seniors have active working lives and do not have the time and energy to spend time at mixers, matchmakers, or on blind dates. Furthermore, your average mainstream dating site is often unoptimized for senior dating. Situations like this are where OurTime steps up to fill the void.
OurTime is excellent for mature singles in the 50s and 60s who want a stress-free approach to seeking out other senior daters to establish that much-needed connection without having to jump through any unnecessary hoops.
OurTime also recognizes that seniors are often looking for relationships that may differ from what you will find on other conventional dating websites. Hence, the platform is open to all forms of connection between members, and you have full freedom to detail the exact type of relationship you seek.
Whether you are looking for pen-pals, a casual date, platonic friends, a long term relationship, marriage, or even someone that will pair up with you to keep the kids' company, OurTime is the platform for you.
OurTime is open to members from the United States and Canada. However, up to 95% of the platform's user base resides in the country, so Canadian users may have a tougher time finding people in their area.
OurTime: Effectiveness
OurTime does not publish official reports of the number of connections their platform has created, so it is almost impossible to gauge the success of the platform systematically. However, there is no shortage of user reports and success stories that members attribute to their time on OurTime.
On the OurTime success stories page, you will find hundreds of member reviews that testify to the efficacy of the platform, and reports on unique connections that have formed from senior daters meeting on the website.
Furthermore, on review sites like Trustpilot and Consumer Affairs, you will find a wealth of similar reviews where OurTime users report on their success in finding mates and companionship on the platform.
While regular dating websites like Match now provide senior dating, where OurTime edges them out is in the fact that on their platform, you are sure to meet like-minded mature daters in your age group as they are the only members on the user base.
If you are a senior and you currently do not own any dating site memberships, OurTime is a good a place as any to get started.
OurTime Features
Design
The OurTime platform features a slightly outdated design, albeit with clean, minimalist aesthetics and a straightforward and easy to use layout. However, we do not consider the dated website design a problem, especially when considering the website's target audience. With sites focused on seniors, the essential aspect of the interface is usability and not modernity or aesthetics.
Thankfully, OurTime's website is very functional and intuitive. The platform is super easy to navigate around, and even laidback 60-year-olds will no issues finding their way around the interface.
The platform uses a simple navigation system that lists all the features of importance on the top navigation bar and the left sidebar. Aside from this primary navigation, you won't find any gimmicks, pop-ups, complicated settings, or features on OurTime, which is a big plus for a website targeting the elderly.
The top of the user dashboard gives you access to your user inbox, daily matches, the search feature, user settings, and Tokens. Tokens are a virtual currency native to the OurTime platform that allows you to purchase special platform features like virtual gifts and PromoteMe.
Getting Started
OurTime has a significantly simplified signup process, especially when compared with other conventional dating platforms. During our initial test, we completed the entire registration in 2 minutes, which is a significant improvement over popular platforms like Match and eHarmony, where you will need an average of 30-40 minutes to get started.
This extremely efficient signup process is particularly excellent for people in their 50s and 60s, many of whom are not as tech-savvy as younger generations.
All you need to get started on OurTime is some necessary personal information and some cute photos for your profile. Users can upload up to 30 photos to their profile and can change their photos whenever they want.
After signup, the platform prompts you to fill out your user profile to help increase your chances of matching with the right person. The bulk of your user profile features an “about me” section where you can describe your story with up to 1250 words. You can also fill out other sections that highlight different aspects of your personality and daily life.
Once your profile is all set, you can immediately move on to seeking out other members and establishing contact.
Establishing Contact
On OurTime, all new users gain instant access to a match-list as well as the ability to seek out members with the search functionality using any criteria. The match list serves you with a handpicked selection of 10 potential matches each day.
However, if the users on the match list do not fit what you are looking for, you can use the search feature. This functionality lets you filter all platform members by location, status, religion, ethnicity, physique, smoking and drinking preference, age, zodiac sign, and lots more.
Once you find a profile you like, the platform lets you like their picture, add them to your watch lists, or initiate contact in one of two ways: flirts or instant messaging. However, the messaging functionality is only available to members with a premium plan.
If you find a groove with any OurTime member, premium users can also proceed to more advanced communication with ConnectMe, a feature of the platform that lets you call members securely without exposing your personal contact information.
OurTime Pricing
OurTime offers premium plans for users who want to unlock the full functionality of the service and activate the ability to message other members. The payment plan is available in 1 month, three-month, and six-month plans.
| Duration | Price Per Month | Total Cost |
| 1 Month | $29.95 | $29.95 |
| 3 Months | $22.99 | $68.97 |
| 6 Months | $17.96 | $107.76 |
While OurTime payment plans are slightly more expensive than other conventional dating sites, the target user base on the platform provides enormous value for senior daters.
Free Account vs. Premium Account
With a free OurTime account, you gain access to all aspects of the platform except the messaging functionality. Free users can like photos, search and add members to their watchlist, and send winks to other members.
Consequently, the significant advantage that a premium subscription gives you is the ability to send unlimited messages. It addition, premium users gain the ability to view read receipts, and a premium sticker is added to your profile when it shows up in searches.
Token Economy
On OurTime, you can also buy tokens that let you activate some unique features of the platform like PromoteMe and NotifyMe.
| Tokens | Price |
| 25 | $0.99 |
| 110 | $3.99 |
| 280 | $9.99 |
With OurTime Tokens, you can purchase any of the following features:
Virtual Gifts (10-80 tokens): You can send virtual gifts of all sizes to other members as a sign of affection.
PromoteMe (20 tokens): the PromoteMe feature boosts your profile, so you appear at the top of user searches, increasing your chances of gaining new connections. Each purchase of PromoteMe will promote your profile for 60 minutes.
NotifyMe (20 tokens): NotifyMe creates custom alerts that let you know whenever any of your matches log on to the OurTime platform, so you have a higher chance of catching them online. Each purchase of NotifyMe will activate the feature for seven days.
OurTime Pros and Cons
Pros
- One of the largest senior dating websites
- Easy to use platform with simple user interface layout
- Ten matches for all members daily
- Free account allows adequate testing of the platform
- Multiple methods for establishing contact and interacting
- Detailed search functionality.
Cons
- No screening of members for accuracy of their profiles or potential scam accounts
- Deplorable customer service
OurTime Alternatives
Popular senior dating site alternatives include:
- EliteSingles
- SeniorsMeet
- Moms date Dads
User Reviews
You can find multiple success stories from the platform like this one from an OurTime member who found love on there:
“In less than two weeks, I had the opportunity to meet some very nice local ladies in my age group. I have tried several dating sites, and this was by far the best site I found where the majority of my contacts were within my city/state area of interest. Dating my special lady from here now for a month. :-)”
However, there were several reviews that complained about getting hacked and the security of the platform:
“I've been on this site a few weeks. It wasn't bad at first. But now, I've been finding the site is sending out flirts on my behalf without my knowledge. I don't know what's going on. Has my page been hacked? Makes no sense. I've never seen photos of these people, and they are getting messages I “liked” them, then they respond to me. I have to tell them, I never “liked” their photos. To make things worse, you can't contact this company directly.”
“I signed up for one month, which was supposed to renew in one month automatically. The two gentlemen I messaged online, I do not believe were actually them. The one had a Masters degree, however both had very poor grammar. I got suspicious and asked to meet the one. The following day, I was unable to sign in. I have sent countless emails to their customer service with no response…. And? I still am unable to sign in! Now I'm contacting my bank, just great!”
