Recession Love in the Air?

Several stories have caught my attention about the love lives of Americans during these tough economic times. We just love attributing trends to the Great Recession these days. There seem to be three (somewhat contradictory) main themes:

1. Bored and poor during the recession, Americans have taken to staying in more. Therefore, contraception sales are on the rise (Portfolio).

I did see one study that might contradict the trend, although I can't say it was a very serious study: I recently wrote a lighthearted story for PLANADVISER.com about the effect the recession is taking on the personal lives of Americans. A survey by personal finance site Minyanville found that 17% of the surveyed Americans find the recession has negatively effected their loves lives, while 9% say they saw a spike in their love lives. (Most said it hasn't changed.)

2. Despite the financial pinch, Americans are willing to spend on finding a mate. Dating sites are on the rise, because everyone wants someone during hard times. I'm reminded of Rose clinging to Jack as the ship goes down. (Nightline segment about online dating is here.)

3. Marriages could feel the strain during bad economic times (New York Times commentary about this here). So, let me see if I got this right: Even though everyone who doesn't have someone wants someone, everyone who already has someone is going to get annoyed by that someone? Kind of sounds like regular economic times to me.