Ira Glass, my personal hero of successful Jewish dorkiness, made a very valid point about the current state of journalism in a recent “This American Life.” The economy may be suffering, but at least one type of story is still selling: the “check out this unusual result of the recession” article. That, Mr. Glass, is so very true. Personally, I’ve written both about how the recession has positively impacted the San Francisco sex industry, and how it’s screwed with online porn — and my editors only want more.

Most recently I had a piece in The Economist about how the economy has boosted the traffic on sites like OkCupid and eHarmony. In “A Boom in Online Dating,” I talk to everyone from Sam Yagan to Nodel Biderman of Ashley Madison to a couple that met (and got engaged) after a series of layoffs. Check it out and read about how the nesting instinct is driving people to find mates — and to cheat on their mates at the same time.

Biderman also mentioned something fascinating: that the crap economy is changing the face of monogamy itself. Obviously, as a poly girl, I’m prone to see cracks in the whole institution of traditional marriage thing, but it’s interesting to hear someone in the infidelity business confirm tha the desire to stick together for financial reasons during hard times make couples more tolerant of indiscretions. I wonder if the same reasoning explains the rise I’ve seen in cybersex. It’s cheap, but it’s also getting the okay from more spouses with less monetary leverage.

That’s not exactly the best advertisement for online sex — what can unhappy partners do about it? — but perhaps driving up our numbers will make internet pleasures more acceptable, and therefore less frowned on in the first place. Thanks, recession?