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Funny odds of online dating
Internet daters complaining
Rick, a Web site developer from Columbus, Ohio, remembers his divorce nearly four years ago with an extra tinge of bitterness: His ex-wife remarried the same day, to a man she met via the Internet.
"After we decided to split, we were still living together for a while and she got online," Rick, 29, said. "They ended up meeting and two days after that, she was wearing his ring." Rick later tried his own luck at a Web dating forum, but said a promising flirtation with a woman turned sour after several weeks of e-mail contact. He finally met a new love online, but not at a dating site – the sweetheart sent him a message to a music disc he had recorded. "It very naturally as opposed to anything else I've experienced online," he said.
While the Internet has arguably increased the chances of meeting mates, it carries its own share of heartbreak and growing complaints about false profiles, bad behavior and ill-suited matches. A number of online daters and Internet sites are taking matters into their own hands, critiquing these services and warning their peers of the pitfalls of Web hook-ups.
At least 29 million Americans, or two out of five singles, used online dating services last year, and that market is to keep growing over the next five years.
the triumphant tales of e-mails that end in wedding bells, a growing number of online daters are complaints. At eDateReview, some of the most popular match-up sites garner lukewarm ratings. The most frequent complaints are that there are far more men online than women and a lack of protection against sexual predators or cheating lovers. Men lie mostly about their availability and about they have a steady girlfriend or wife, and women tend to lie mostly about their looks.
One of the critiques comes from a reviewer named Rich, who gives Match.com a two-star rating out of five potential stars. "I've come to this conclusion – there are not a whole lot of good-looking women on these dating sites," he wrote. "'Average' (in a profile) means fat, 'extra pounds' means bring a defibrillator to the date."
A reviewer identifying herself as Natalie says she " her chances on meeting her next date the conventional way."
The grievances are a sign of how mainstream the practice has become. The things people do online to deceive people are the same things they do offline. The point of connection is on a Web site of a bar or a gym.