The Scoop on Online Dating Sites

I came to the online personals with a lot of skepticism and a sliver of hope. After a slew of dead-end relationships and too many nights spent saddled up beside a bar, I decided to post a profile on a personals web site.

There are varying degrees of personals web sites. Marriage-minded individuals will want to check out eharmony.com. "When you're ready to find the love of your life," the site reads. Becoming a member on eharmony means filling out a rigorous "personality test" with multiple sections. Section eleven is called "Most and Least Like You". Which characteristic is most or least like you? The characteristics range from "reserved" to "life of the party."

Since I'm not down with the idea of getting married anytime soon, I stopped filling out the eharmony survey. They took themselves way too seriously. Other web sites with religious affiliations that cater to helping people tie-the-knot include christiancafe.com and jdate.com (a Jewish personals web site).

A less intense degree of personals web sites includes: Yahoo, Nerve.com, Make Out Club, and Friendster. I ruled out Make Out Club and Friendster because there were too many younguns on these sites. I didn't want to sit down to dinner with a suspiciously young looking fellow. Someone who repeats over and over, "No, I really am twenty-one" while checking his cell phone to see if Mom has called.

With the list narrowed down to Yahoo and Nerve.com, I began sifting through profiles. If you choose to join an online personals group, the first thing to do is see who else is on the site. Do you see a hottie you'd like to meet? Or at least chat with online? Do you have similar interests with other people enrolled on the site?

I found Yahoo to be comparable to newspaper personals. Profile headings read, "SWM looking for a good time" and "SBM likes to party." Not exactly my idea of cyberlove.