Do Dating Sites Really Work?

There are many dating sites out there: Match.com, eHarmony, Yahoo Personals, etc. They all claim that they find compatible matches for anybody and people who sign up will meet their future spouses/lovers from the site. It sounds promising, there are many problems with these dating sites and do not make them better than standard dating.

First, many sites provide little or no information about a user’s matches, making these dates almost completely blind. It is difficult to prepare for such a date or know what to expect when you may not even know what your date looks like. Even the information that is given is often false, as women are known to lie about their weight and men about the height. The potential of online predators is especially threatening, as it is almost impossible to know whether your match is really that busty 25-year-old or a 45-year-old pedophilic man with balding hair. The truth is that nothing can be known until the match is met in person, and if the match happens to be an online predator, that may be too late already.

Another problem with such dating sites is that they often are unable to find matches for certain people. An inherent problem is that there is often an unbalanced ration of male and female profiles on such websites. This naturally means that many people will be left unmatched. While it may be fine if the service, were free, it becomes a problem if a fee is charged for its service. These websites often do not provide refunds if a match cannot be found, wasting the money of the user.

One of the most dangerous problems, however, is that these dating websites require accurate personal information due to the fact that your matches must be able to contact you. These websites can easily give away this information to unwanted people, allowing them to spam your email with advertisements or try to scam you through phishing. Online predators can also obtain private information, and it is well-known that predators that have a person’s telephone number or address can be very dangerous.

Finally, there is the issue of the quality of the matches. While there are many attractive users online, many other users who resort to online dating services are those who are not able to obtain dates through person. It is not surprising, then, that often those who use dating sites are unhappy with the quality and/or attractiveness of their matches. The cute guys/girls shown in advertisements for these dating sites are often fake profiles made to attract users and make money.

While dating websites have succeeded in pairing together great couples, there are many others who walk away disappointed (and a bit poorer) due to the many problems with these sites. In the world of online dating, it all depends on luck; some may find the perfect match as advertised, but some may not find a match at all or even become attacked by an online predator pretending to be a perfect match. For these reasons, many have chosen not to join the online dating bandwagon and simply stay with simple dating in person.