It seems there's nothing you can't do online these days. From booking airline tickets and shopping for groceries to scoring concert tickets and finding long-lost friends, the Internet offers up the opportunity to find just about anything you could possibly be looking for. And if you're looking for love in all the wrong places, perhaps all you need to do is turn on your computer.
Online dating services are hot these days. Elaine Stevenson*, a 34-year-old single gal from Toronto, has been using the popular Canadian site Lavalife.com for the past two years because she wanted the opportunity to meet men in a more controlled environment.
"I had friends who used similar methods of meeting people and now one of them is married and the other engaged -- both to people they met online," says Stevenson. "So clearly, the method has some merit."
According to individual and couple therapist Carole-Anne Vatcher (MSW, RSW), online dating services are an increasingly acceptable and popular way for people to date and find partners.
"My sense is that there has been huge growth in people in their 30s and 40s using online dating services," says Vatcher. "People in this age group often express to me the feeling that their personal network has shrunk down -- that they don't have as much contact with friends as everyone's so busy, people move away or everyone they work with is married. Online dating services have been great to open up a new network in the face of this feeling of isolation."
But given the Internet's long reach, where do you start looking for love online?
Canadian sites
As online dating grows in popularity, so has the number of sites offering this kind of service. Date.ca, LifeMatesOnline.com and Lavalife.com are just a few Canadian examples. Each site offers similar technology that enables you to register for free and browse through member profiles.
Lavalife.com is a popular choice with more than 1.3 million messages exchanged every day. Registration on Lavalife -- which was launched in Toronto in 1997 -- is free and easy. Simply create a personal profile that reveals as much or as little about yourself as you choose. Once you've registered, you can search for the kind of relationship that's right for you: Dating, Relationship or Intimate Encounters. Once you've perused the potential candidates, you can correspond with the person of your choosing via e-mail, instant messaging or video instant messaging.
Ready to meet your online interest? First, check out our first-date conversation no-no's.
Page 1 of 2
