The weather is getting warmer, the birds are beginning to chirp, and for some, it is the perfect time to find a summer love.

Online dating is becoming more popular, especially for African-Americans. Paul Carrick Brunson, 35, is founder of OneDegreeFrom.Me, a matchmaking company. He calls himself the modern day hitch, predominantly focusing on matching African-Americans. His company has grown tremendously since 2009 when it first started, and even though it isn’t an online dating site, Brunson says it is still very connected to the Internet.

And his company is following the trend. They throw mixers and dating events in several cities, and even are expanding coaching globally. Brunson says the rate of growth for African-Americans participating in online dating has increased.

Black people participate about the same as other ethnicities on the dating site OkCupid.com. The site has about 600,000 African-Americans registered; two thirds are between the ages of 18 and 34, a number that is comparable to the other ethnic groups, just slightly skewed younger.

Brunson has seen firsthand how the Internet is a huge benefit when it comes to matchmaking.