Senior Black People Meet: 9 Things to Know

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Dating at any age can pose challenges. For seniors, it can be particularly… challenging. Aging in society is full of challenges in daily life, and then you add dating? Still, love knows no age.

How does Senior Black People Meet stack up as a dating site? Let’s take a look at this unique dating site and note some things you should know.

As of 2019, according to the Census Bureau, the population of the United States of America was just over 328 million. That’s a lot of people. But within that population, how many people are senior, African-American, and single, and would therefore be interested in a dating site like Senior Black People Meet? 

Our research showed that this specific demographic niche is too narrow to garner results from a single search, so here are some statistics put together to estimate the number of single, senior, black citizens:

1. First, persons over 65 years of age comprise 16.5% of the population, or about 54 million people.
2. Next, 13.4 percent of the U.S. population identifies as black or African American alone (meaning not of mixed race).
3. Finally, 49.1 percent of American men have never been married or are divorced or widowed, along with 50.8 percent of U.S. women. 

Imagine a Venn diagram, and picture the size of the overlap between those three population groups — senior, black, and single. That specific segment of the population, who also live in the area of a U.S. zip code is Senior Black People Meet’s target audience.

But how do they serve them? Who’s likely to get into online dating, and why? In a world that moves as fast as the speed of information, is this niche dating site an option worth pursuing, for anyone in the target group? In this article, we’ll explore the site’s features and philosophy by listing 9 things to note on the subject. 

1. Who Are They?

As with most American businesses that have lasted long enough to see a measure of success, Senior Black People Meet has a parent company — People Media. Formerly known as Zencon Technologies, a firm started by two Arizona entrepreneurs, People Media launched Black People Meet in 2002. Its founders quickly realized they were attracting users to the site without doing much marketing, and so this niche dating site soon gained the siblings Senior People Meet, Single Parents Meet, and the well-known Our Time. Of course, Senior Black People Meet is under the same umbrella.

In 2009, People Media was acquired by dating-site juggernaut Match.com for the sum of 80 million dollars. In the years between then and now, Senior Black People Meet has enjoyed a steady growth and an increasing number of “success stories,” where matches lead to relationships and couples write testimonials thanking the site for bringing them together. 

Today, the SeniorBlackPeopleMeet community is millions strong (see below) and offers a simple, intuitive interface, a relatively low cost for membership, and a reputation for eliminating scammers and fakes who show up trying to trick people. Read on, to see if you want to try it.

2. How to Get Started

So you think you might be interested in checking out Senior Black People Meet? Here are some things to know about getting started:

1. There is no Senior Black People Meet app, either on the Google Play store or the Apple App Store. You’ll have to use their mobile site or desktop site. The good news is that SBPM’s user interface is simple, straightforward, and intuitive — more on that later.
2. If you want to actually go beyond browsing pictures and move into the realm of real conversations, you’ll have to shell out a few bucks. The free features do include sending “flirts,” viewing profiles, and reading the site’s articles on senior dating and how to do it online. But like I said, back-and-forth messaging requires a paid membership.
3. Be especially careful about negative interactions. SBPM’s community is constantly encouraged to report fraud and abuse, and once you’ve been banned you can never come back. Even offline behavior can be reported and can result in the revocation of site privileges.

3. Ease of Use

Senior Black People Meet is made for use by the non-tech-savvy. Let’s face it, many seniors have a hard time with the finer points of computers. But here, at every step from profile creation to account setup to the browsing process, the graphics are clear, the text explains exactly what users need to know, and there’s no need to explore drop-down menus of small-print options. 

And they go a step further. Once you are chatting with a love interest, the SBPM algorithms suggest conversation starters, replies to incoming messages, and interesting questions you can ask your prospective mate. You can’t get much more user-friendly than that!

4. Security

On every page of the SBPM website, the message is repeated: violations of respectful conduct will be answered swiftly. The idea is to give every user a safe and secure forum, free from scammers or rudeness. SBPM exudes an air of access to a network of close-knit, honest people, and they’ll take steps to keep it that way. Subscribers are encouraged to report fraud and abuse as soon as they happen.

One member we talked to said that the instances of coming across a “bot” — an autonomous program that interacts with others on the internet, and not a real person — are much more rare on SBPM than on, for example, Plenty of Fish. A combination of live moderation and anti-spam algorithms on SBPM makes for a secure experience indeed.

5. Creating a Dating Profile

As with most online dating sites, you’re more likely to get inquiries and responses if you have a quality profile that reflects your true personality and contains a picture or two. But if you’re not too familiar with computers or smartphones, how do you make sure that happens?

The answer is Senior Black People Meet’s FAQ section, which appears during profile creation. It has suggestions on what to include for information about yourself, warnings against divulging too many personal details too soon, and answers to the most common questions users have.

With SBPM, a picture on your profile is especially important — if you don’t have one, your profile won’t show up on anybody’s search, period. There are two reasons for this — first, having a picture up goes some way toward revealing your true self as you search for a partner, and second, profiles without pictures are quite often bots.

6. Cost to Join

As dating sites go, Senior Black People Meet has quite competitive prices. If you want to sign up for one month, the fee is $13.99. Pay for your first three months at $8.99 a month, charged all at once, or six months for $6.49 a month, also billed in one charge.

However, here’s a word of warning — no matter which payment option you choose, your membership fee will automatically renew at the end of your term, unless you go in and cancel auto-renewal. This can be a task. Our interviewee said he tried to cancel his subscription one time, and had so much trouble with the process that he decided to keep his profile active and just bid the money a fond farewell. 

The jaded among us may say, “That’s how they get you,” meaning that many sites make a difficult chore out of unsubscribing. We can’t peek into SBPM’s owners’ minds with a crystal ball, but we’re glad to warn you here — make sure you are aware of the auto-renewal aspect of membership.

7. What People Are Saying

From a scan of online reviews of SeniorBlackPeopleMeet, we’ve determined that there are a few things to be aware of:

1. Depending on your location, the pool of possible dates can be quite small. The demographic “senior, black, and single” is a small niche, made smaller by the fact that not all senior black singles are going to want to date online and have a profile on this site in particular. So if you live far from a major population center, expect your group of prospects to be small in number.
2. Many reviewers expressed frustration with the fact that when they first started with a free account, they got all kinds of “flirts” and favorites, but once they transitioned to a paid membership, the frequency of those contacts fell way off. Some suspected that SeniorBlackPeopleMeet engineered it that way to get them in the door, and then left them cold. So be aware that your profile may not be as popular as you at first think.
3. Another common complaint is that many SBPM users, even though they’re in their fifties and sixties, post pictures of themselves that were taken in their twenties or thirties. One reviewer said, “I don’t care what you looked like in 1997.” So make sure you look for profiles that have a current photo. Those are the people who will be genuine, goes the conventional wisdom.

8. Similar Senior Dating Sites

1. OurTime — Offering the ability to search their database of profiles for free, OurTime is mainly focused on true connections that lead to lasting relationships. No one wants to be alone in their silver years!
2. SeniorMatch — One solid “plus” that this site has is an available live dating counselor to guide you through the online dating process and offer wisdom and advice.
3. MatureDatingClick — This is a free site that offers progress tracking and chat rooms in addition to the usual messaging and favoriting features.
4. LoveAgain — A good forum for elders who want to find a relationship, no matter what their race or other demographics. Are you ready to love again?

9. Does It Work?

As with most things, you get out what you put in. There have been marriages that stemmed from meeting on SBPM, and at the other end of the spectrum, there have been users who demanded a refund after the first week. Keep your eyes open.

Closing Thoughts

This article is meant to be informative, but even extensive research will not uncover every fact about a site like SBPM. So if you have a story, some praise, or a warning, please let us know in the comments below. In the meantime, happy dating, we hope you meet someone great!