10 Things Online Dating Services Won't Say

Once considered taboo, online dating is no longer a dirty little secret. In fact, dating sites now average over 20 million unique visitors a month, according to comScore, an Internet-information provider. With so many singles unabashedly searching for Mr. or Ms. Right online, it’s taken away the stigma that Internet dating is a sign of desperation, says Lisa Clampitt, president of VIP Life, a New York–based matchmaking service.

The promise of tapping a vast dating pool has people paying $30 to $60 a month to join top sites like Match.com and Yahoo Personals, or smaller, niche outfits like Datemypet.com, where users upload photos
of themselves with their pets. And for many it works—in fact, around 2 percent of marriages in the U.S. today are the result of an eHarmony.com connection, at least according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by eHarmony. But before you log on this Valentine’s Day, a reality check: The odds aren’t in your favor, says social-sciences researcher Jeana Frost. “People respond to so many attributes that have to be experienced,” says Frost. “You can’t just find someone compatible by using a search button.”

All illustrations by Ryan Heshka