Online dating service

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(Redirected from Internet dating)

A Net dating service, also known as online dating or internet dating, is an example of a dating system and allows individuals, couples and groups to meet online and possibly develop a romantic or sexual relationship. Net dating services provide un-moderated matchmaking through the use of personal computers the Internet or even cell phones.

Such services generally allow people to provide personal information, then search for other individuals using criteria such as age range, gender and location. Most sites allow members to upload photos of themselves and browse the photos of others. Sites may offer additional services, such as webcasts, online chat, and message boards. Sites sometimes allow people to register for free but may offer services which require a monthly fee.

Many sites are broad-based, with members from a variety of backgrounds looking for different types of relationships. Other sites are more specific, based on the type of members, interests, location, or relationship desired.

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Trends

U.S. residents spent $469.5 million on online dating and personals in 2004, the largest segment of “paid content” on the web, according to a study conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and comScore Networks.

At the end of November 2004, there were 844 lifestyle and dating sites, a 38 percent increase since the start of the year, according to Hitwise Inc. However, market share was increasingly being dominated by several large services, including Yahoo Personals, Match.com, American Singles, and eHarmony. eHarmony CEO Greg Forgatch noted that despite the growing number of sites catering to specific niches (such as widowedhearts.com[1]), "to become a major player, it still takes a large number of people."

In 2002, a Wired magazine article forecast that, "Twenty years from now, the idea that someone looking for love won’t look for it online will be silly, akin to skipping the card catalog to instead wander the stacks because 'the right books are found only by accident.' ...serendipity is the hallmark of inefficient markets, and the marketplace of love, like it or not, is becoming more efficient"[2].

The online dating trend has also become very successful in Europe in the past decade. Not only has match.com opened local branches in European countries to cater to their particular culture and language, but also a French company, Meetic, has become one of the top sites. Their success has encouraged new start-ups and niche sites to come on board, such as mocaenboca.com[3], based in Spain. Mocaenboca.com[4] is a bilingual site (you can view it in Spanish or in English), and members may be able to speak one or both of these languages, although this is not a necessity. The key is that they can meet and contact each other on the site and date in any of the carefully selected cafés, hence the "moca" in the name.

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Problems with Online Dating Services

The main problem with most online dating services is that many profiles are not actually real persons. It has become a habit of some companies to plant "fake" profiles that are in reality advertisements to other sites or...in some cases a lure to get the person to continue the service after he has cancelled by receiving a message from a supposedly interested person. There are however, free dating sites that users do not have to pay for to use and reply to messages. Plentyoffish.com is one alternative. While it does not stop persons from posting "fake or ad" profiles it at least ensures that all contacts will be free to message and reply.

In addition, many services contain quantitative profile options that engender misrepresentations. Members of online dating sites are not trusting the descriptions of their fellow members. There have been numerous studies on customer satisfaction with online dating sites and the lack of trust with other members is the most overwhelming concern. According to Keynote, 61% of customers are concerned that members are misrepresenting themselves. Unfortunately, the members of online dating sites have little control with the way they are represented due to the limited options offered through descriptions and characteristics. Datinganddating.com is an example of a service that utilizes qualitative profile and matching criterion that addresses the issue of misrepresentations.

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Pop culture

  • You've Got Mail a film in which the two main characters conduct a relationship entirely over e-mail before meeting each other.
  • Must Love Dogs, a 2005 film about two people trying to find love through online dating.
  • Napoleon Dynamite, a film which pokes fun at the concept by having a character obsessed with meeting women online.
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References

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External links

ja:出会い系サイト nl:Online dating sv:Nätdejting

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