W3rd.....Online Dating Services

There is a vast community of online dating services available. Are these websites a legit way to meet people or are they nothing more than a money-making scam? After researching a top dating sites, and delving into a couple review sites, I've complied a few pro's, con's, and safety tips, (along with a little dirt).

Dating site reviews state that “online dating sites can be a great tool to help you find romance, love, a few friends, (and) long-lasting relationships...but the operative word is 'can'”. According to dating websites' testimonials, it's true that people have been able to use dating sites to find anything from hookups to long-term love. Also, Online Dating Magazine states that “more than 20 million people visit at least one online dating service a month,” and that “there are more than 120,000 marriages a year that occur as a result of online dating.”

The first online dating service I looked into was eHarmony.com. This site claims to be one of the best matchmakers on the internet. The reason they are different is because while other dating sites evaluate users based on short-term goals and needs, eHarmony emphasizes long-term relationships. With 7 million users interested in a committed relationship (16 million total), it is easy to see why they have a decent number of marriages occur after their matchmaking process. This is also one of the only dating websites that can claim over half of their users are female.

So what are the downsides of eHarmony? It turns out there are plenty. One of the reasons that may attribute to the high match-to-marriage rate is “pre-user screening." The founder of the site, Dr. Neil Clark Warren (the one on all of the commercials) is actually a rather religious dude, and doesn't take very well to gay or unhappy people. Nice.

There is evidence that eHarmony has rejected over a million visitors who were interested in making an online profile. I guess, according to Doc Warren, unending bliss isn't for everyone. Also, it takes forever to make your compatibility profile, featuring 29 different compatibility aspects about you, and asking you over four hundred questions in all. Wow, after doing all that I doubt I would have the energy to pay upwards of twenty dollars a month (sixty for the first one) to actually use the service.

But they say the compatibility report is free!

Yea that part is free, but until you start paying, you don't get to communicate with any of the other members. This is beginning to seem that only a very select demographic can benefit fully from the site.

So what are the other risks involved with the online dating community?  A main issue that is running rampant is the use of fake profiles.  Datingsitesreviews.com defines a fake profile as one which "inaccurately represents the person (and) misleads other members of the dating service."  They also divide fake profiles into three categories.  On some of the "sleazier" date/hookup sites, many of the profiles were fake people that linked straight to pornographic websites.  Damn.

And what about the people that you finally have to meet?  They may come across truthful and clean through phone calls and emails, but it can be easy to hide many unwanted traits and characteristics.  Desperate members of the dating community can easily turn to harassment because of a few unreturned emails. There were over 350 registered cases of cyberstalking in 2006.  Not really something I would want to deal with.  However, there are a few ways to protect yourself if you are willing to take the chance.

Another aspect of dating sites that most people look over is the fact that once you meet your "soulmate," physical relations may ensue.  Hey, thats great but you know what? risks always accompany that.  An article on CNN.com reveals that dating members looking for sex are more likely to have an STD and have an inflated amount of previous sexual partners.

To sum up, it looks like online dating is here to stay.  Personally, I would rather meet someone at a party or in class than take a chance with a bunch of randos on the internet.  I have no idea what kind of smut is out there.  If I found someone that was potentially my soulmate online, I would probably be a nervous wreck by the time I met them anyway.  That awkward situation is never fun.