http://www.daterindistress.com/dating/internet-site.html An internet dating site worked for someone I know- but what is the downside to an internet dating site? en-us Tue, 04 Oct 2005 09:59:10 EDT Tue, 04 Oct 2005 09:59:10 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 An internet dating site has become the method of choice for many daters out there playing the field. We hear a lot about all of the success that many people have had in finding their life partners through an internet dating site. Most of know at least one person who has their profile on one and is having a lot of fun meeting new people and going out on dates with people that they would not have met without the help of an internet dating site. But, as with many other things in this life, these sites do have two faces and all is not peachy when it comes to this still relatively new phenomenon we call the internet dating site. The other side of an Internet dating site One of the most obvious downsides to an internet dating site is the amount of anonymity that it allows for. This can also be seen as a plus, but if you are serious about finding a mate, this simple fact can make things more difficult because there is no guarantee that the person on the other side is being honest... about anything! If someone so desires, they can be whoever and whatever they want to be online. And since many people generally do not meet in person until they have been chatting online for some time, it can be very frustrating and disappointing to find that the other person is actually a fraud. Sticking to the point about anonymity, a recent study has found that approximately 30% of the people using dating sites are, in fact, married and using the sites to find partners for affairs. In this case you are not necessarily dealing with someone who misrepresents themself, of course they have conveniently decided to leave out an important bit of information that would be a deal breaker for you, but they are in other respects who they said they were. And in this case the fraud can go on for quite some time before they are found out. If you have a hard time believing that people have used dating sites in order to snag people into scams or worse, go online and do some research. You will definitely find out enough to scare you into looking out for yourself a little more diligently. You are your first line of defense against predators. Tue, 04 Oct 2005 09:59:10 EDT