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Online dating

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A Net dating service, also known as online dating or Internet dating, is an example of a dating system and allows individuals, couples and groups to meet online and possibly develop a romantic or sexual relationship. Net dating services provide un-moderated matchmaking through the use of personal computers, the Internet, or even cell phones.

Such services generally allow people to provide personal information, then search for other individuals using criteria such as age range, gender and location. Most sites allow members to upload photos of themselves and browse the photos of others. Sites may offer additional services, such as webcasts, online chat, and message boards. Sites sometimes allow people to register for free but may offer services which require a monthly fee.

Many sites are broad-based, with members from a variety of backgrounds looking for different types of relationships. Other sites are more specific, based on the type of members, interests, location, or relationship desired.

U.S. residents spent $469.5 million on online dating and personals in 2004, and over $600 million in 2006, the largest segment of “paid content” on the web, according to a study conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and comScore Networks.

At the end of November 2004, there were 844 lifestyle and dating sites, a 38 percent increase since the start of the year, according to Hitwise Inc. However, market share was increasingly being dominated by several large commercial services, including Yahoo! Personals, Match.com, American Singles, and eHarmony. eHarmony CEO Greg Forgatch noted that despite the growing number of sites catering to specific niches, "to become a major player, it still takes a large number of people.".

In 2002, a Wired magazine article forecast that, "Twenty years from now, the idea that someone looking for love without looking for it online will be silly, akin to skipping the card catalog to instead wander the stacks because 'the right books are found only by accident.' Serendipity is the hallmark of inefficient markets, and the marketplace of love, like it or not, is becoming more efficient"[1].

The online dating trend has also become very successful in Europe in the past decade. Not only has match.com opened local branches in European countries to cater to Europe's particular cultures and languages, but also some companies like BestSingle, Meetic and Easyflirt have become top sites[citation needed].

Mobile dating websites are gaining popularity. According to The San Francisco Chronicle in 2005, "Mobile dating is the next big leap in online socializing." [2] Some experts believe that the rise in mobile dating is due to the growing popularity of online dating. Analyst Brent Iadarola of Frost & Sullivan said, "I think people are more comfortable with online dating, and it's generally been accepted, the comfort people have with online dating in the wired world is now translating to the mobile world." [3] Others believe it is all about choice, as Joe Brennan Jr., vice president of Webdate [4] says, "It's about giving people a choice. They don't have to date on their computer. They can date on their handset, it's all about letting people decide what path is best for them." [5]

Of late, it is common to see online dating websites providing webcam chats between members to make dating even more convenient than ever. In addition, as the online dating population becomes larger, sites with specific demographics are becoming more popular as a way to narrow the pool of potential matches.

A nice development recently is the appearance of the UK based site CoolApproach.com. This provides a great way of approaching someone you may fancy by sending them 'clues' in the form of avatar characters which can be used to give as little or as much information about you as you like. The great thing avout this is that your identity is not revealed until you want it to be. User can also send clues by SMS. What a great fun way of dating!

Problems with Online Dating Services

[original research?]

There can be a variety of problems when utilizing online dating sites.

  • Some sites expect members to sign up "blind," meaning that users have no preview of the profiles they will get to see. eHarmony is one example of this kind of site. On other services, some profiles are not actually real people, but "bait" that has been placed there by the site owners to attract new paying members. Both Yahoo Personals and Match.com have received several complaints of using this tactic. Some users spam sites with "fake" profiles that are in reality advertisements to other services, such as prostitution or multi-level marketing. A majority of dating sites keep profiles online for months or even years since the last time the person has logged in, thereby making it seem as though they have more available members than they actually do. Many sites offer the option to sort search results based on activity, however.
  • Most members are enticed to join dating websites with free or low-priced "trial" memberships advertised on many other websites. These trial memberships lack many of the features of the full membership, including the ability to contact other members or reply to e-mail from other members. On sites which require credit card information to join at all, these trial memberships may automatically become full memberships at the end of the trial period and charge the full monthly fee, without any additional action from the member, regardless of whether the member has actually used the services or not. For paying members, it is often unclear whether a potential contact has a full subscription and whether he or she will be able to reply at all. There are still, however, a few established free dating sites that allow users to reply to messages, PlentyofFish being the largest. Niche sites cater to people with special interests (e.g. sports fans, nerds), professions, political preferences, conditions (e.g. HIV+, obese), or religions (e.g. Jewish).
  • Some members have expressed complaints about the billing practices of certain dating sites. In some cases, trial memberships that were canceled within the trial period were automatically re-billed even after canceling. To avoid these potential problems, some users have advised using a virtual credit card number which is offered by several credit card companies.
  • Even when members' profiles are "real", there is still an inherent lack of trust with other members. Many members misrepresent themselves by telling flattering 'white lies' about their height, weight, age, or by using old and misleading photos. Members can, of course, ask for an up-to-date photograph before meeting others. Matrimonials Sites are a variant of online dating sites, and these are geared towards meeting people for the purpose of getting married. Gross misrepresentation is less likely on these sites than on 'casual dating' sites. Casual dating sites are often geared more towards short term (and implicitly sexual) relationships.
  • Online predators find online dating sites especially attractive, because such sites give them an unending supply of new targets of opportunity for Internet fraud. A recent study, led by Dr. Paige Padgett from the University of Texas Health Science Center, found that there was a false degree of safety assumed by women looking for love on the internet, exposing them to stalking, fraud, and sexual violence.[1] Some online dating sites conduct background checks on their members in an attempt to avoid problems of this nature.
  • Unbalanced sex ratio in general, the total number of males seeking females on any given dating site are many times more than the number of females seeking males, creating an unbalanced sex ratio.

United States government regulation of online dating services

US government regulation of dating services began with the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) [2] which took affect in March 2007 after a federal judge in Georgia upheld a challenge from the dating site European Connections. The law requires internationally oriented dating services to conduct, among other procedures, sex offender checks on US customers before communication can occur with a foreigner.

Pop culture

  • You've Got Mail, a 1998 film in which the two protagonists conduct a relationship entirely over email before meeting each other.
  • Napoleon Dynamite, a 2003 film in a which one subplot involves a central character's online (and later physical) relationship.
  • Must Love Dogs, a 2005 film about two people trying to find love through online dating.
  • Another Gay Movie, a 2006 film where a student finds his high school English teacher online.
  • Euro Trip, a 2004 film in which the central character has a relationship wholly via email with a girl from Berlin

See also

References

  1. ^ http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/MagArticle.cfm?Article=748 Look Who’s Googling: New acquaintances and secret admirers may already know all about you
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