Internet+Dating

=**Internet Dating by Angela Tepedino**=

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As a general definition, internet dating is a dating system which allows individuals, couples, and groups to make contact and communicate with each other over the internet, usually with the objective of developing a personal, romantic, or sexual relationship. Because the internet has become so advanced, it has allowed its users to meet through various ways such as chat rooms, dating web sites or social networking web sites. This type of dating originated in 1995. [|Match.com] came about by creating a whole new world to internet users. After signing up for this sight it asked people about their interests (likes and dislikes). For a fee, this site generated a list of other people who have the same interests as your own and "matched" you up with them. Today, dating sites have become more popular and creative as to how they pair up there users; some do it by interests while others do it by having you fill out an hour long questionnaire. Not all sites require a sign-up fee and some even have ads on television or in magazines. **B**ecause it has become so popular, many more dating sites have been made since match.com, some even catering to certain needs such as people who are single parents or people looking for a certain age or race. The top 5 dating sites being: [|Match.com], [|Chemistry.com], [|PerfectMatch.com], [|eHarmony.com], and [|SeniorPeopleMeet.com]. There are hundreds of different dating web sites, having something that suits everyone's specific desires.=====

Since the internet is extremely popular, there are many benefits to using it for dating. You can have access to millions of different people with a click of your mouse. By doing this, people are able to easily get to know each other with minimal contact and without awkward moments if either person decides that the other person is not exactly what they are looking for. Also, it allows you to meet someone who you otherwise might not have had the opportunity to. Of course, like everything in the world, there are downsides to using the internet as a main source for dating. People can lie over the internet and pretend they are something they're not. This is not only wrong but very dangerous. There are many people who use internet dating sites to scam people and trick them into believing they are a genuine person, when in reality they are a criminal or something of that nature. As a general rule, people who use the internet for dating need to be cautious about how much information they provide to each new person they chose to talk to. Some basic precautions that a dating site user can take are: agree to meet someone in a public place, don't let that person pick you up (opt to taking separate cars), and make sure to tell someone you trust where you will be in case of an emergency.

Internet dating seems to be very effective, but there is very little evidence to actually prove this. There has not been enough professional studies done to actually show the logic behind how these dating sites match people up, but because people are becoming so technologically dependent, it is on the rise. Researchers have found that this concept is more of a business now than an intervention for people to find "true love". In 2008, Americans spent about $1.2 billion on the usage of dating sites and they are predicting that number to grow to about $1.7 billion by 2013. Although this is a large aspect of dating sites, the more popular ones have actual scientists working in the background trying to find the perfect way to connect people. Some say the only way to really tell if two people are compatible is through testing the neurotransmitters in their bodies and comparing them, and others believe it is as simple as how a person labels themselves (i.e. people with the same social status, or people with the same type of career tend to like each other). So, even though there has been some research on the topic, no one really knows how effective these propositions are, yet. But since internet dating is rapidly growing, researchers and scientists continue to explore the effectiveness of these websites and will continue to improve them for the future.

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