By Camilo Echeverri Bernal
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When it comes to dating, most people like it to the point. We do not like phone numbers unless it is for texting. Seeing one another face to face waits until we have exchanged a few messages, added one another on MSN or Skype. Only as a last resort do we go on a coffee or movie outing when we feel comfortable enough and are certain that something will come out of it.
This is a recent development which may have surfaced in the 1990s, from chats to Websites that cater to particular sections of the population.
Online Dating Magazine estimated that 20,000 people a day visit online dating sites. In the last year 17 percent of couples who married met on a dating site according to http://www.datingsitesreviews.com. Also, one in five singles are “currently in a committed relationship with someone they met on a dating site.” In 2010 according to mobile research group Ground Truth, mobile dating saw “a 92 percent increase in users since the summer began.” Online dating nationwide increased 15 percent from May 2009 to May 2010. In the Bay area (San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland) it increased 22 percent in the same period of time.
This gives us a rather clear idea of how popular this trend is. But it also means that there are men and women who will fabricate information and make up lies on their profiles to “tap that ass.”
According to another study by Online Dating Magazine, it was determined that “about 52.6 percent of the men in the study [lie] about their height, as [do] 39 percent of the women.” When it came to age, “24.3 percent of the men were untruthful, compared with 13.1 percent of the women.” When people say that they are 6 ft. tall, they are most likely 5 ft. 9 in.”
When it comes to income, people are “20 percent poorer than they say they are,” based on numbers given by http://www.blog.okcupid.com. This same number could be applied to any other Website, but OkCupid seems to be growing in popularity and thus could be used as the standard. Another factor are photographs, more accurately, recent pictures in which the person is younger are more likely to be out of date. So, watch out.
This does not mean you cannot be happy with someone you meet online, it only means that the chances are really quite sly…not like eHarmony.com wants you to believe. I found my current boyfriend online — and so can you.
If you can get past the deceit and the lying that goes on daily that is. It is like sorting through a box of doughnuts and sampling which flavor you like, some will be sweet, others will come with a filling that makes you cringe. But eventually you may find the one that makes you smile.
