Looking for Love? What About Online Dating?

Valentine’s Day is almost here. While some will spend the day with someone they love, many others are looking for love.

At least 40 million Americans have tried online dating. That’s about one in seven people. A Georgia Southern University professor has been researching online dating for about five years and says more and more people are trying it.

Most of you have heard of or seen the 1998 movie “You’ve Got Mail” which focused around online dating.

Dr. Will McIntosh says movies like that have encouraged more people to try it. You set up a profile that tells everything about you as well as what you want.

“Men look at the pictures and they just click on the picture that they like, e-mail that woman without necessarily reading the profile,“ says Dr. McIntosh.

While women like online dating because they can read all about you. “How far they’re willing to travel, are they married? Do they have kids? Do they want kids?“ explains Dr. McIntosh.

For safety reasons, online daters use nicknames. “The nicknames matter. Men want women who use nicknames that are flirtatious. So they want cute and happy,“ says Dr. McIntosh, while women like nicknames that show that you’re cultured.

“What neither like are names that flaunt wealth. So “lovemyporsche” is not a good one, not the name you want to go with,“ says Dr. McIntosh.

He says both men and women lie about their weight. Some men also lie about their height, among other things.

“Every once in a while they’ll be on a date with a man who will then say, ‘Oh by the way, I’m married. Is that okay? Something along those lines,“ says Dr. McIntosh.

He says women 65 and older tend to be pickier than younger women, with one exception. “They will travel two to three times as far as a young woman to meet the right guy,“ says Dr. McIntosh.

If you can weed through all the lies and exaggerations, online dating’s not that bad and you just might find true love.

What We Couldn’t Fit Into the Story
-About 25% of men and 15% of women lie about their age.
-60% of those who do online dating are men. 40% are women.
-Most women age 25-35 want a man who’s at least an inch taller than her.
-Many older women want a man who is three inches taller than them.
-Older women don’t want someone much older than them because they want someone to travel with, and not someone to take care of.
-Many 65 year old men want 50 year old women.
-People who are less attractive sell their personality more on their profile.
-Many men are much more eager for short-term relationships, but it differs with age.
-Gay people in general are more willing to date outside their race.
-Straight men and gay women are most willing to date outside their race.
-Almost 30% of Asian women are not interested in dating Asian men.

Popular Online Dating Sites
-Match.com
-Yahoo
-E-Harmony
-Specialty Sites (just for the Jewish Community, people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, etc)