Posts filed under ‘Couples’
International Kissing Day – Survey Results, in Infographic form!
Thousands of Zoosk couples and singles in 9 countries voted on our International Kissing Day survey, now, here are the results!
A Celebration of Kissing
With International Kissing Day right around the corner, one can’t help but think more about kissing. In a big way, kissing is the true odometer of your romantic journey. Think about it. That first one is full of significance and promise – a kind of romantic fanfare to welcome the possible beginning of a new relationship. Early on in dating, kissing becomes a sort of celebration of your romance evolving into something special. As the honeymoon period of dating begins to plateau, kissing becomes a more-casual way to confirm your togetherness. By now, you’re probably only really going at it like high schoolers when a bit tipsy or as a launch pad for a more-intimate encounter.
About a year into your coupledom, you’re unlikely to be making out at red lights. Now, it’s a way to say ‘thanks’, ‘hello’ or ‘have a good day at work.’ It’s affection, not passion. And it’s sublime. Primates: orangutans and chimps kiss. Not each other – they don’t live in the same habitats – but certainly within their own species. It’s a biological instinct wired right into our most ancient brains. It’s the most intimate way to communicate a feeling that’s hard to express otherwise. So, this July 6th, take some extra time to do a bit of extra kissing. There’s just no way you’ll regret it!
Alex Shapiro is the PR manager for Zoosk who likes to DJ, write and think about kissing.
How do you feel about kissing? Tell us in our comments section!
Zoosk’s Romantic Song of the Week: A Very Furry Romantic Moment
There are few things more universal than romance. After all, every culture in the world and throughout all of time has had their own notion of what it means to be romantic.
And this isn’t exclusive to people. Lots of animals, otters for example, keep their mates for life and one can’t help but think that some sort of animal romance has something to do with that otterly whole-hearted sense of commitment. Speaking of adorable critters, in this week’s video, we explore some furry romance with the video for Burning by Adrian Lux feat. Dante.
Win cash and a vacation in our contest!
Calling all couples! Want $10,000 PLUS an expenses paid romantic getaway to your choice of (1) New York City (2) San Francisco or (3) Miami? Enter Zoosk’s Romance FTW Contest with your significant other, create your couple profile, and start posting romantic stuff! The most romantic couple gets their dream vacation and huge cash prize! More details here.
Five Reasons to Sweat With Your Sweetheart
Spring is upon us and for many our resolutions have also sprung… a leak, that is. Studies show that 50% of folks who make resolutions have thrown in the towel by the end of February. And, “losing weight” as well as “staying healthy” consistently make the top ten most popular resolutions.
So, what can we do to get our fitness resolutions back on track? Turn to our partners. Yes, our partners. Why not? With spring in the air, it’s time to start anew, to take advantage of Spring Fever, and to start exercising alongside the love of our lives. It could be surfing on the weekends, playing tennis in the evenings, hitting the gym after work or starting one of those intense 90-day DVD programs, as my wife and I recently completed.
Here are five reasons you should work out with your partner:
1. It’s a time saver. Life is busy. It’s easy to let something fall through the cracks, be it focus on your relationship or keeping to your fitness plan. When you exercise with your significant other, you are killing two birds with one stone.
2. It’s sexy. When you exercise together, you sweat together. You feel good about yourself and your partner. When you start to notice your partner’s changing body, let them know how good it looks on them. Odds are, the compliment will be reciprocated. And, when you know your partner finds you hot, you feel good about yourself and what you are doing.
3. It inspires you. Exercising is one of those things that is easily pushed pushed aside. And, once you skip a day, the next day is even easier to skip until you’ve missed a week and figure it’s time to throw in the proverbial towel. Studies show that working out with a partner holds you accountable to your resolution. When you see your partner getting out there and sweating, that can inspire you to follow suit. Encouraging one another is the motivation that many need.
4. It connects you. Having our own individual interests and lives is important in relationships. But so are shared and common interests. If you are sharing an exercise Boot Camp, cross country skiing or training for a half marathon together, not only are you physically with one another while you work on your fitness, but you also have a common activity you can talk about with each other when you are not training.
5. Endorphins! When you exercise your brain releases endorphins, neurotransmitters that get you high on life. These buggers fire when we win a competition, make love and laugh. They are why we don’t want to stop winning, making love or laughing. When you get these guys firing and you are feeling amazing, you’ll associate that feeling with your activity as well as the person you share that activity with.
So, get back on the resolution track and drag your partner with you! Neither of you will be sorry you did and you can share what happens in our comments section!
Leon Scott Baxter is America’s Romance Guru and author of A Labor With Love and Out of the Doghouse and the new book, The Finance of Romance
Zoosk’s Romantic Song of the Week: This week, Nelly has a Romantic Moment
There’s two things last week’s song by Justin Bieber lacked: bass and Nelly. In a rare departure from his usual style, Nelly’s Just a Dream video is full of romantic moments and even has a flying car, Back to the Future-style – except more black and white. See if you can spot the enormous engagement ring making cameo appearances throughout this. You might think that’s computer-generated, but we think it’s very much real and actually filled with chocolate!
Arguing: Do it nicely
Every relationship is bound to have some conflict in it — some would say that’s even healthy. The question is: how do you make the best of your arguments and avoid lasting damage to your relationship.
1. Take a time-out (aka check yourself before you wreck yourself)
This is the oldest advice in the book, but it’s the best thing you can do in an argument: cool off, whether by counting to 10 in your head or politely excusing yourself to the bathroom and splashing water on your face. The idea is that you want to act with your whole brain, not just with the raging emotions you feel.
2. Maintain respect – affirm your partner
Even while totally disagreeing, you can still respect your partner’s opinion. If you’re in a place where you just can’t see their perspective, try remembering that they still have a right to their own perspective even if it makes no sense to you. Communicate that as nicely as you can by saying something like, “I am on a totally different page from you, but I respect that you feel differently.”
3. Don’t be hard-headed: avoid black and white thinking
Do you find yourself thinking in terms of conflict and extremes? Thoughts such as “I’m right and you’re wrong” or “You NEVER do such and such” are bound to be at least partly wrong. Chances are, the truth is a little more subtle than these extreme thoughts. Try to remember that and balance out your extreme thoughts with a dose of reality. Allow room for some “Well, maybe I’m a little wrong” or “Well, you sometimes do such and such, just not as much as I’d like”.
4. Keep the big picture in mind
If you’re arguing about who should do the dishes, ask yourself: is it worth breaking up over the dishes? In most cases, the answer is NO. So try this technique to bring you back to a more reasonable state of mind. If it’s not worth breaking up over the dishes, be sure to not act like a total jerk about it!
5. Make the choice to make up
At some point, even if you don’t agree and still have major conflict… you have to make up (unless you’re going to break up!). Don’t just make up gradually after a long angry silence — instead choose to be sweet and kind and love-y! Try to focus on how relieved you are that the argument wasn’t worse, or how much you appreciate having your partner in your life. If you’re mad about something big, focus on the little stuff to take away your anger. Spend some time doing something fun together to distract you both, or if you are feeling affectionate enough, cuddle together. It’s important to put time and effort into making up.
Do you have other suggestions for resolving an argument? Share them in our comments section!
-Beth Budwig is happily married to a man who cooks. When not eating, she builds web pages for Zoosk and goes hiking in the Oakland hills.
Zoosk’s Romantic Song of the Week – This Week, We’re a #Beleiber
As the romantic social network, it’s pretty much our responsibility to bring you all things romance, couply and relationship-y. So we wouldn’t be doing our job very well if we didn’t share this brand new runaway hit from Justin Bieber! It’s racked up over 60million views in just over a month but, if somehow you managed to miss it – sit back, relax and #believe in boyfriendness!
A Letter to Zooskers: Introducing Couple Profiles
Shayan Zadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Zoosk
Dear Zooskers
When we set out to start Zoosk in 2007, we had one goal in mind: to improve the romantic lives of people everywhere. We had big expectations, but what followed exceeded our wildest dreams. Though we’re now 5 years older and 100 million users stronger, we feel like we’ve just scratched the surface of what we originally set out to do.
For example, as someone who’s been in a committed relationship for the past few years, I’ve taken a ton of photos — of our anniversary dinners, birthday celebrations, and other special moments. Like everyone else, I sometimes posted those moments on Facebook. But those special moments always got buried among other photos and posts. I needed a special place for my girlfriend and I to post about our relationship and share with each other as well as our real-life friends. Think: a “digital scrapbook” of sorts. We asked around, and this turned out to be a major problem for a lot of people. So we set out to solve it.
Today, we’re excited to announce Couple Profiles, a new feature that allows users who are in a committed relationship to create a scrapbook of their relationship. Are you going on an anniversary dinner date with your husband tonight? Are you and your wife planning a romantic getaway? Take a photo and post it on your couple profile. These moments are timeless. Imagine going back and reviewing your Couple Profile with your significant other, 5, 10, 20 years from now, and being able to easily scroll through and cherish every moment of your romantic journey together.
Integrating people who’re in relationships into Zoosk, fits perfectly with our vision as a romantic social network. Now every user has the ability to create an Individual Profile — as well as a Couple Profile if he/she is in a relationship. As always, only your real-life friends can see your Individual or Couple Profiles (our Personals Application automatically turns off and disappears for you and your partner since you’re lucky enough to have found that special someone already).
We hope you create and share your romantic journey on Zoosk.
Thank you for reading and Happy Zoosking!
Shayan Zadeh,
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Zoosk.com
PS. If you’re in a committed relationship, you can learn more and set up your Couple Profile here.
Zoosk has received heart-warming letters from couples from all over the world have found love on Zoosk. We are proud to share 
