Oceangrl0398 is looking for someone to keep her warm; Lusciousbabygrl hates drama, playing games, lies and cheating; Pseudofamous is the intelligent, artsy type; and Shankadang is, well, searching for a gorgeous man.
All these pseudonyms have one thing in common: They are all women between the ages of 18 and 35 looking for dates in cyberspace.
Not only has paying bills, managing portfolios and grocery shopping moved online, but so has finding a “soul” mate. Online dating services have become extremely popular and spawned sites such as HotorNot.com, Match.com and Americansingles.com.
However, many Boston University students still prefer more traditional ways of meeting new people.
“I’m in college — there are more interesting ways of meeting random girls than through the digital world,” said Brian Rejack, a College of Arts and Sciences senior. “Why would someone use an online dating service unless they were lacking something? Lacking social skills, for example.”
Trish McDermott, vice president of romance at Match.com, offered a different perspective.
“I actually think our average age is going lower,” she said. “It has gone from 35 to 32 in the last three years, which means more young people are signing on.”
McDermott also said online dating could be a social experience for college students. Looking at profiles online gives students a way to connect with each other in the real world, she said.
“Although it does seem counterintuitive for college-aged people to use online dating since their entire lives are almost a social network, I think going online does give them more opportunities to meet people,” she added.
But BU students Trish Bertuccio and Libby Dale remained skeptical about online dating’s safety.
“It would be impossible to know who you were really talking to,” said Dale, a CAS freshman. “And honestly, anonymous dating services seem like pervert magnets.”
Although Bertuccio, a CAS sophomore, said she has never met anyone who has used online dating, she said even online success stories would not make her consider using the dating services.
“I’m a little sketched out by online meeting places,” Bertuccio said. “There’s too many stories about creepy men trying to meet young girls, and it provides too many opportunities for weirdos to meet people who are seriously looking for companionship.”
However, the “creep” factor is largely a misconception, McDermott said.
“The security aspect of online dating is the anonymity,” McDermott said. “We rarely regret the choices we carefully choose in our lives. So use the tools of anonymity that we offer you — say no to an email if you have to.”
Match.com is now offering a service called “matchvoice” in which telephone calls from potential matches are also anonymous, according to McDermott.
The service remains anonymous through a switchboard run by Match.com that connects the two users.
Safe or not, some students have entirely different reasons for not using online dating services.
“Although a lot of people say they wouldn’t use an online dating service because it is creepy, my main reason for not being interested in one is that it just doesn’t seem like the right way for me to approach dating,” said CAS senior Elizabeth Taylor. “I don’t think it’s the right way to find love.”
But according to a recent survey of 800 singles conducted by Match.com, 70 percent said they believed they could fall in love with someone online.
Online dating has exploded and has made Match.com the leading site in terms of revenues and profits with about 9 million members, McDermott said. While the online dating services profit, the users who find their true loves do as well.
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