Went to dinner and a movie tonight with friends (Up, it’s terrific), and afterward, on the way home, the girlfriend with whom I carpooled - we try to be green - asked me if I’d ever on line dated.  I said yes, and our married friends who we just left met on line.  She asked what sites I had used, for how long I did it, and if I met anyone special on line, and asked why I thought she should.  Here’s what I told her.

One of the best things about on line dating is the variety.  You get to meet all sorts of people that you might not meet in your everyday life and learn who they are.  You go to new places you might have never been and do things you might not have thought to do.  And not to be platitude-y, but you even if you don’t meet “the one” on every date, you never know when you’ll make a friend.

The other important, and I think oft (if you allow me to be affected) overlooked, aspect of on line dating is that it keeps you in the game, keeps your dating skills sharp. When one hasn’t dated for a while, too much pressure and importance can be put on every little thing, but when it’s a regular occurance, it’s not as all important. What I mean is, in the past, when I hadn’t been on a date in a while and I went out with a guy I liked, if I didn’t hear from him I got very bummed, and it would turn me off of dating.  When I was on line dating, and going out with new people regularly, if someone didn’t work out I knew there was someone else out there to meet.

Finally, and this is true in all aspects of life, we create our worlds.  If you want to be with a special person, the only way to meet them is to put yourself out there.  The universe gives back what you put out, I promise.