The Wall Street Journal recently published a fascinating online article the succinctly details all of the pitfalls of online dating the we at Eight at Eight have been harping on for years. We've been contending since the word "go" that online dating sounds better than it truly is. Jason Kephart, the article's author, gives us a laundry list of online dating realities that demonstrate the shell game, bait-and-switch of internet matchmaking. One telling quote from one of Kephart's sources: "Online dating sites’ biggest flaw is they don’t offer service of any kind. Rather, most of them function more like a giant virtual bar or nightclub."
Here's a taste of some of the other conclusions from Kephart's research:
- Everyone is lying about something.
- The total number of members on any given online dating site is grossly inflated, as many people, worn out from poor results, are "active" members of the community despite never actually logging on.
- "Getting to know someone" online makes fertile ground for predators. Caveat emptor...
- 10% of community members receive 90% of the correspondence, meaning the vast majority of people are pumping money into a no-service, no-results situation.
