Match.com

Yes, I have decided to blog about online dating sites. Recently, (just yesterday, actually) I did an English project about the book Emma by Jane Austen where I created a fake online dating website because the main character believes she is a match-maker. I find these sites to be oddly fascinating. Maybe it's just me, but I can't help but doubt these sites. Parents and adults always warn us teens about meeting people online that say they are some one when they really are not. Studies have been done to see just how many people do these sort of things! Couldn't this just happen on one of these many sites? Anyone could upload a random picture, lie about interests, and totally make up their information. I mean, unless these sites have a way of picking out the liars (I wouldn't know).

----- One out of ten users on online dating sites are scammers; one out of ten users leave within the first 3 months; and one out of ten sex offenders reportedly use online dating to meet people.

http://www.zimvi.com/?p=2897

But studies are starting to show that online dating is rapidly growing in popularity.

------------ In the first half of 2003, consumers spent over $214 million for online dating services. This number is 76 percent higher than the same time last year.

http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com/mediacenter/onlinedatingfacts.html

I would just feel weird about meeting someone online. There just seems to be something impersonal about online dating. There could easily be liars. Meeting people in person allows you to get a better feel for them. Also, meeting in person allows you to see if you have any physical chemistry. Plus, why would people want to pay so much money in order to do this? Not much of it makes any sense to me. But I do agree that it could be a potentially good way of meeting someone new. But this is why there are free sites like Facebook, if you ask me.