There are two things in life we cannot buy: happiness and love ("In search of a Sugar Daddy"; Aug 16).

Dating websites pairing young women with rich older men willing to pay lavishly for companionship are fraught with problems and promote disparate agendas.

Do these women have no work ethic, and rely on their looks to get what they want? Are we going back to the mentality that women need men in order to thrive in the world?

Sugar babies conforming to these stereotypes go against women who are fighting things like a glass ceiling in the workplace.

Women should consider how these men perceive them, and how such relationships affect their self-image and capacity for love.

Let us also consider how it looks for the men who are being used for their income.

Married men who are in these situations are often cheating on their wives or are unable to form a deep connection with others. Money and sex are the only currency they are able to offer.

Middle-aged men are often emotionally trapped and seek a younger partner to reignite the sexual vitality of youth.

All this can lead to a slippery slope of affairs and divorce that would affect Singapore society.

Francis Cheng