My Adventures in Online Dating: Part 1

Our group project for this class is to look at Match.com and its effect on society. Naturally, my group decided that one of us should act as a guinea pig and actually try this thing out. Wary of online dating, but curious nonetheless, I volunteered for the job.

The first step was to enter basic information like my age, gender, and the gender and age range that I was interested in. Check. I created a user name and password, and was taken to a page of matches. After clicking on one, I was asked to complete a profile. One of the first things asked of me on the questionnaire was, "What's your sign?" No, I am not kidding. It is at this point that I start to wonder what I'm getting myself into.

At the end of the second page I'm asked what my best feature is. Included in the drop down list are: neck, bellybutton, and feet. Hmm...maybe I'll use this as a way to screen people. If your feet are your best feature, we've go nothing to talk about.

After completing my profile, I press the button labeled "send for approval." I get an email telling me it might take up to 72 hours to have my profile approved. So I wait. The next day, I receive another email telling me they can't approve my profile. Some of the possible reasons listed are: soliciting, providing identifying information, offensive language, or sexually explicit or violent material. What?!

I change the wording slightly in my description and resend. I go through this process several times before I finally figure out exactly what they’ve taken issue with. Turns out, they won’t let me use the word “petite” in describing myself. Heaven forbid I include any sort of physical description in a dating profile.

After finally getting my profile up, it isn't long before I start getting "winks," a Match.com feature that allows users to show general interest. But that's another story....