Adventures in Online Dating, Vol. 2

Posted on | June 28, 2010 | 3 Comments

Here’s the thing about me: I’m kind of terrible at making decisions. Present me with too many choices and my brain will start to fry. Sometimes, I over-analyze everything and get so paralyzed by the possibilities that I can’t make a decision. Other times, I’ll decide quickly and then start second-guessing myself. So, naturally, I was quite overwhelmed when it came time to jump into the online dating pool.

If you’re entertaining the idea of online dating, you may think you know what’s available to you, but you have no idea.

There are, of course, the mega-sites, the ones who must be doing well financially if they can afford prime-time television ads. They make a lot of claims about “the most marriages” or “the most successful first dates” – that’s all great, but have they done any follow-up research? How many of the marriages are still intact? What’s the definition of a “successful” first date? These ads also feature lots of generically good-looking pretty people, designed to make you think that you too could end up in this commercial, if only you too were a generically good-looking pretty person.

Should you want to venture off the beaten path, just Google “online dating” and voila! A whole world of options appears, with enough choices to drive an indecisive flip-flopper like me into a tizzy.

Since many of the bigger name sites charge for “premium” access or something like that, you could always choose one of the “totally free” dating sites – and yes, they totally used the word “totally.” Perhaps you prefer to date someone who shares your religion. You’re in luck, because there are Christian sites, Jewish sites, Muslim sites, Hindu sites and so much more. I didn’t find a dating site for Buddhists, but that’s probably because they believe that life ultimate leads to suffering, so why would they bother adding the suffering of online dating?

But those are the predictable options – we would expect to see those. What about all the other niche markets out there? Surely there must be something for them.

Are you a self-professed geek? Then there’s a dating site for you. Looking for a Russian mail-order bride or a prison inmate? Then there’s a dating site for you! Seniors, people with STD’s, Ayn Rand fans, Trekkies, pot smokers, and yes, even zombies, all have dating sites specifically tailored for them. During my very extensive scientific research (conducted one evening while I watched Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives), I also found online dating sites for married people (just in case you thought those vows were optional) and, for some inexplicable reason, an separate online dating site for Canadians.

Yes, there is a dating site for everyone, from the refreshingly normal to the scarily abnormal and everything in between. I used to think that online dating was reserved for a small portion of the population, but lately I’ve been rethinking that point of view. Maybe online dating is not so unusual. I mean, we’re all human and love is a universal emotion. And it can be difficult to meet someone who shares your innate knowledge of Klingon-Romulan relations or can sympathize with what it’s like to be undead. Niche online dating sites just make it easier to make sure you meet the absolute right person. After all, you just want to be loved – even if you are Canadian.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

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