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It used to be that, if you wanted to meet that special someone, you had to chat up people at bars or go on dates set up by friends and family. Sure, there have always been personal ads and dating services, but they were generally considered the realm of the desperate. But now, social networks have turned the Internet into one giant repository of personal ads, and much of the stigma associated with online dating has disappeared. In fact, according to a recent study by Michael Rosenfeld from Stanford University, as many as one quarter of all couples first met online.Rosenfeld has called the Web the greatest technological shake-up the dating scene has ever witnessed. While the phone certainly was a game changer, it only allowed you, largely anyway, to stay in contact with people you already knew. The Internet, on the other hand, has turned people into their own matchmakers. Now, thanks to dedicated dating sites like OkCupid and Match.com, as well as Facebook, those playing the field are identifying and evaluating potential mates from the comfort of their computers.
| Yes | |
|---|---|
| No | |
| I'm single. |
Interestingly, it seems that users are turning to the Web to escape the pool of potential partners with whom they're already familiar. Often, people who meet online are not even friends of friends, but complete strangers with little discernible social connection to one another. These Internet romances are also more likely to cross religious and ethnic lines, and are more likely to be same-sex relationships (basically, Pat Robertson's nightmare). Rosenfeld believes that the Web will overtake other venues for meeting matches in the near future. He told the AFP that the Internet "may reshape the kinds of partners and relationships we have." [From: AFP and NPR]
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Comments
30
Subscribe to commentsRudyAug 17th 2010 10:40AM
Nice to see the world is catching upi to me. I met my mate online 15yrs ago and we had a great 13yr relationship untli her sudden death due to cancer. And here is the name of the site we met at I am sure the young crowd will not know it but it was Prodigy. She lived in Ca and me in NJ we met we chatted we talked on the phone and then she moved cross country to meet me. After that we traveld all over had many great times and a few not so great times.
Everyone just needs to be careful and ask lots of questions and as always first meeting should be in a very public place. Cam to Cam chats are the way to go these days. Back when I did it we had to send pictures to each other by snail mail.
Even today being single I have met another nice lady and we hope to meet in person in time she is a bit far away this time.
PrestidigitatorAug 17th 2010 12:57PM
Thanks for sharing your story. Can you recommend which site for someone new to try?
RudyAug 17th 2010 1:08PM
If you want to try out online dateing at a no cost way. Check out the site plentyoffish.com it is free to join post and reply to anyone you find interesting. Just be warned you will have to talk to a lot of ladies to find a nice one. As far as paid services go I was not impressed much with them seems like the people there has made a living staying on the site.
Also it is important that you know what you are looking for.
Good Luck
amy kerwinAug 17th 2010 2:40PM
I met my husband on line in an MSN chatroom. We met and got married on May 26th only after a month of knowing eachother we have been married for 9 years and have 2 daughters. Neither one of us used those new online dating sites. I met the perfect man for me with just pure luck.
swampbunnyflAug 17th 2010 4:04PM
My story is very much the same! My husband, living in MN at the time, found me, in FL at the time, out of an AOL chat room in 2002. We married in early 2003, had a beautiful daughter by the end of the year, and are as strong today as ever. Due to logistics, we did not live in the same household, or state for that matter, until almost 5 months after we married. But over the computer, phone, and a couple of visits, we were able to get to know each other on a completely different level than we'd experienced when meeting someone face to face and going through the horse-and-pony show of dating. We considered ourselves to be engaged before we'd even ever met face-to-face the first time.
AugustaAug 17th 2010 3:02PM
I have used several of the online dating sites, and have not met anyone who wants a relationship, most of them want sex, whether it be online or phone or in person..I am 67 years old, and I give up... ~~~~~
ajschrodAug 17th 2010 4:39PM
it's a shame people don't go to church anymore, Augusta. That used to be a place for older, decent folks to meet each other. Unfortunately, online is mostly younger people with oats to sow.
PATHOUSTON06Aug 17th 2010 5:39PM
Don't give up!!!! I am 60 and my husband is 68 - we met online 4 yrs ago - yahoo personals - we will be married 2 yrs next month. We were both very honest on the site - no casual sex - looking for long term and what you see is what you get.
We had both said "We give up and am not going to look anymore" - 2 days later we "met" online and have been together every day and night since. He is the man I had been looking for all my life.
Hang in there and good luck finding the one you want.
still lookingAug 17th 2010 6:00PM
Amen to that, sister. I am 60. Never met anyone on-line. Tried them all. Maybe they work for younger folks. I think they are great and lazy way for men to meet women. They sit home, go through a bunch of pictures, lie like rugs and even go out on dates!!! My neighbor (no great catch, told me he never had a date in high school, said he met 52 women on line. He was having a "ball" period. He freely admitted to being a "loser" when it came to meeting women until online dating.
EAJAug 17th 2010 3:42PM
Test
Richard D. JonesAug 17th 2010 4:01PM
match.com is a meat factory!
Mpfirman78Aug 17th 2010 4:14PM
My wife and I met on Match.com 5 years ago, and we are now pregnant with our 3rd child!
John & MichelleAug 17th 2010 4:35PM
I met my wonderful husband online through a website after just one week! We have been married for a year and a half and have a 6 month old daughter. We both had been married before and knew what we wanted and found each other. I never thought I would ever meet anyone online but I was very lucky and glad I took the chance.
JEB BUCKINGHAMAug 17th 2010 4:48PM
The Carpenters-"Goodbye To Love".
These days it's all about money, or sex. No girl is interested in a middle-aged guy.
Tina MarieAug 17th 2010 5:27PM
Jeb, where do you live? It's dry county in Charleston, SC, I bet you don't live there!
melissad1113Aug 18th 2010 8:52AM
I met my boyfriend on plentyoffish in March of 09. I had never tried online dating before, but with the awful guys I had been finding I figured I should try something different. He is a wonderful guy and I am so glad I tried it.
Diane PeaglerAug 17th 2010 5:23PM
My daughter and her husband met online ! One was in the US and the other in London!. They've been married for 2 and 1/2 years!..and are expecting baby #2!
Wonderful !!...My mother is 65!,,widow,,,,and has met someone and has been dating,,for 3 months now!,,,Me?....single for 14 years,....can't meet a single nice guy!????Go figure!
carmAug 17th 2010 5:29PM
I am 53 and my fiancee is 54. We met 3 years ago on spiritual singles. We both
went through many nightmares. Dating was easier in college. Yet we found each
other and we are very happy together.
PATHOUSTON06Aug 17th 2010 5:41PM
you are showing the world you are an idiot.
KevinAug 17th 2010 5:52PM
Nothing wrong with meeting someone online for a date or even starting a new relationship with. Honestly, would you date someone that DID NOT have a computer????