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 Editorial:
Online Dating - Is the Stigma Gone?
by Joe Tracy, Publisher of Online Dating Magazine
(April 2006) One of the questions I'm most often asked
by media is whether or not there is still a stigma
attached to online dating. You know, that stereotype
that only those doing it are "desperate," "geeks,"
"losers" or "liars" (i.e. married people looking to
hook up).
The good news is that the stigma, over the
years,
has
been disappearing. Dr. Phil is connected at the hip
with Match.com and every month it seems that there
is a story about a celebrity trying online dating.
Just
this month, Life & Style Weekly reported that Charlie
Sheen had been using MillionaireMatch and
successfully found a date (not that it would be hard
for him to
ever find one - wait, is that a stigma statement?).
Joan Rivers posted an ad on Match.com.
Even Halle Berry has stated that she's checked out
online dating services.
Overall, singles around the world (online dating is
experiencing record growth in Europe) have embraced
online dating as a legitimate means to meet amazing
people.
Most importantly, however, is that there are success
stories abound every day. eHarmony
is responsible for 33,000 marriages a year, according
to one study. Match.com reports that 200,000 of its
members tell them they've found who they were looking
for on Match.com - every year.
In my own experience, I've met some of the most amazing
people ever - people I would have never met if online
dating didn't exist. From a successful and talented
veterinarian to a casting director for a popular TV
show, the people
I've met are proof that any stigma associated with
online dating is unfairly applied.
But that brings us back to the original question -
is their still a stigma? And, unfortunately, the answer
is yes. It's growing smaller every day, but it still
exists. And you can see samples of this during the
course of your experience. For example, it's likely
that you've read in someone's profile the words "I
can't believe I'm doing this." Doing what? Using the
best medium in the world to meet an awesome person
that may become your soulmate and lifetime partner?
Doesn't sound like such a bad deal to me!
In a morning radio show interview I did earlier this
year, the two hosts (one male and one female) were
discussing
online dating just before bringing me into the conversation
and the single female told her co-host, "I would
never do that."
Then the first question she proceeded to ask me was
"do you think there is a stigma still
attached
to online dating?" Um... yeah.
The stigma is mostly still existent amongst the increasingly
smaller number of singles who haven't tried online
dating. In October 2004, writer Rachel Lawrence wrote
an Online Dating Magazine guest editorial where
she shared how her own prejudices against online dating
were changed. And that's what is happening everywhere
- people hear success stories, try it for themselves,
shed the stigma, and later proudly announce (when asked
how they met their significant other) - "We met on
an online dating service."
Wishing
you much online dating success,
Joe Tracy
jtracy@onlinedatingmagazine.com
> Try Perfectmatch.com - The Best Approach to Finding the Right Person for You.
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