Come the 21st century, on-line dating has gone mainstream. It’s demographic for any city has become more treacherous than the corresponding in-person single scene, and nothing illustrates this better than a quick browse through Match.com. Like any other dating site, it’s clientele has degraded into a dysfunctional quagmire of conflicting expectations. The desirable stand aloof, the mundane are left reaching hopelessly for those beyond their grasp, and scant few honest souls with realistic expectations get lost in the shuffle. Stigmatic barriers that kept the process pure have been lowered, and swarms of humanity with foolish wants have bum-rushed the castle gate.

The result is predictable….a desirable woman is inundated with cut-and-paste solicitations, while the worthy alloy of an honest reply from a decent man rarely breaches the rising slag that accumulates in her in-box.

It’s saving grace? Match.com is actually the lesser of many other evils. It makes an honest effort at keeping it’s user base clean, and has succeeded in keeping itself free from prostitution and pornographic solicitations. From another standpoint, it’s worldwide. Want to explore the dating scene in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? Punch in the zip code, set your criteria, and see who’s there.

It’s a forum, but not a free-for-all. It’s an alternative, but not a panacea. If you decide to join, pay for membership, and spin their wheel-of-fortune, be aware that spots on the wheel marked “try again” have become more numerous….and the ones marked “happiness forever” have grown increasingly scarce.

Way safer for the ladies as skype lets you remain anonymous while speaking with cell quality to get to know the person you speaking to. A recent study found most people were impressed with their online dating match until actually meeting them face to face, sometimes between them and the door! Also, you can tell a great deal about someone from their voice, and tone. Helps weed out the fakes!

Cheers and happy connections all!