The closest thing to a 30-second informercial these days on TV (well, on every channel I seem to switch to) is the one from "eharmony.com". It tells you to "just look at who we've put together through this great internet dating service!"
If you're expecting complete & guaranteed results, who's kidding whom here? One of the first things my computer teacher taught me in 1979: Computers are stupid without human interaction.
How can you start dating without human interaction? Things are best done face-to-face. For instance, I have never liked telephone conversations because I can always get along with the party better if they're right there with me.
A movie I saw in high school taught me about the process of subliminal messaging; where you may say one thing to please another, but think exactly the opposite. Do they love you, or do they just say that because they love an accessory about you, not you yourself?
Even the presence of the new webcam last spring didn't make things any more truthful, when the roommate tried to set me up with a Phillipino girl. I welcomed the move as an opportunity to chat only; but even in that thin guise I could tell she had an agenda I wanted to avoid. How can you really learn about a person based on computers alone? It almost resembles reading a boring fiction novel.
As my love life has been non-existent as my million-dollar bank account, I must admit I did take a free offer to join an online group this past weekend; but note it is for reference only. If I am using it just as a reference tool to gauge what is out there, and determine whether it's legitimate, then no harm done. Confidentiality is assured; you never have to use your actual name. Members can flirt with each other, but no secrets are given away. You choose a candidate only when ready to choose.
Yet, I have the power not to choose... So I will not let a system of gigabytes tell me who my mate will be.
But if it can clue me in to potential pitfalls (as it was with the Phillipino girl), and do its thing as a reference point only, what's the harm in joining the crowd & supposedly going 21st century from a distance?
