Dating in the Information Age

I'm on Facebook and Twitter. I've met quite a few people this way. I'd even venture to say that some of my closest friends come from one of these two sources. We're doing good so far, right? What about in terms of matters of the heart? There's nothing new about doing personals. We've all giggled at some of the personal ads we've seen in the paper. Wanted: someone passionate about love and not afraid to get rug burns on their knees. Call XXX-XXXX. Gotcha. Or something like this:

I think I might have spoken to her the other day actually!!! Perhaps it was all in her head....

Today, we use formats like Match.com and e-Harmony... In a discussion with one of my closest friends, the current thought is that 1:5 relationships were found online. Is there a real benefit to this? Does it work like my other relationships where we're a bit more comfortable seeing each other because we've already built up a huge relationship virtually before taking the plunge in physically meeting?

We can take the time to get to know each other much better over multiple messages instead of having one shot at getting a news clipping's worth of information out there in order to get that phone call.

In a recent investigation, the online sites still require you to get a news clipping's worth of attraction out there so that people email you or wink at you. Why not just get the information out there? Tell the people exactly what you're looking for in a single blip. I'm sure the person who fits you most will come knocking... And I'm sure a good case of some itchy STD

With that being said... I'll see you online on a popular dating site. My investigation must penetrate deeper into the inner reaching of cyber space.