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Net dating service
A Net dating service, also branded as online dating or internet dating, is an example of a dating system and allows individuals, couples and groups to meet up online and possibly build up a social, romantic or sexual relationship. Net dating services offer un-moderated matchmaking through the use of personal computers and the Internet.
Such services normally allow people to offer personal information, and then search for other individuals using criteria such as age range, gender and location. Most sites permit members to upload photos of them and browse the photos of others. Sites may present additional services, plus web casts, online chat, and message boards. Sites characteristically allow people to list for free but may offer services which involve a monthly fee.
Many sites are broad-based, with members from a range of backgrounds looking for dissimilar types of relationships. Other sites are more explicit, based on the type of members, interests, location, or relationship desired.
Factors in online dating experience
Online dating sites function by the same paradigms that govern all relationships,
though factors precise to the nature of online communications may concern the
experience.
Positive factors include:
Dating sites permit members to meet more people than they would without such
sites.
People can easily look through other members’ profiles before deciding
to communicate.
Members can commune anonymously and with condensed fear or social awkwardness.
The effect of geography is mitigated and members can meet people of remote locations.
Dating sites that tender free or moderately priced services allow users to socialize
with other singles in a suitable, inexpensive way.
Members can decide if there's any chemistry before pursuing the relationship
in real life.
Negative factors include:
Members may misrepresent themselves, together with their marital/relationship
status, age, gender, physical attributes or socio-economic status.
Some members may join the site exclusively to view content and are not potential
matches.
Men often outnumber women. And on many sites, any one subscriber can get in
touch with another - but in practice men usually send the first email. Therefore,
women are besieged with responses (many from 'bad apples' and 'players') while
men are left sending several emails, often never to hear back from women who
can be more discriminating given the wider choice of men.
Some dating sites may not remove 'expired' profiles, or else may be very sluggish
to remove them, thereby incorrectly inflating the apparent number of potential
dates.
Despite modern advances/opportunities in transportation and telecommunication
--mainly, of greatest importance, email-- human psychology and performance still
give rise to issues which may pose barriers to relationship accomplishment when
the two partners are alienated by obstacles other than logistic ones, namely,
a lack of interpersonal communication and stress, among others.
As Andrea Orr's Meeting, Mating, and Cheating
notes, "The guy who was perfect in every way, except that he was 5'8"
tall, might find himself out of the running just because his ideal mate had
scheduled 5'9" as her cutoff height."