The increased number of marriage agencies

There is a wide range of marriage agencies in Germany: there are usual "classic" marriage agencies for singles, there are specialized ones which work with homosexuals, assist elder people, disabled and those infected with AIDS, there are agencies for lonely mothers. Among these agencies there are very small companies where only one person works. He or she has a computer and card file folders in one of the rooms in his own flat. The number of such marriage agencies in Germany has reached one and a half thousand.

It is estimated that there are 13 million single people in the country and 200 thousand of them every year go to a marriage agency and ask them for help. Despite of the increasing amount of criticisms in press, despite of increased number of the clients disappointed by the work of a marriage agency, the number of marriage agencies has doubled in the last twenty years.

The aims of a marriage agency are: a marriage agency should help a man to meet a woman and to speed up acquaintance, to push the case. But a marriage agency should not let the situation develop spontaneously and should supervise it. It should not simply connect two strangers who do not have things in common and it means that they also don't have any opportunities to get acquainted, but a marriage agency should also select partners who match each other and share identical interests and thoughts.

Professional psychologists should do such work. They can make a portrait of a client by asking him questions and according to it they should find a partner. But unfortunately marriage agencies are often opened by those who think that "they can easily communicate with people".