I think online dating a medium that invites and encourages duplicity. (Like the guy who posted John Barrowman's photo. Oh, and the guy who posted that photo of the doofy guy from CSI: Las Vegas.) I think online dating also encourages a total lack of accountability. People aren't invested enough to care. Hey look, I'm guilty of it too. I delete e-mails from guys I'm not interested in. I don't reply and say "Thanks for the interest but not interested." I drop e-mail conversations midway because I'm bored or have met someone else. Is it right? Is it wrong? That's subjective, I guess.
"But you could find that in any means of meeting people!" you say. You're absolutely right. But where are you more likely to encounter that type of nonsense? Online.
As I mentioned above, I came across at least 3 fake profiles while browsing ads. I reported all of them to Match Customer Care. Their profiles are still up. Yet, when I updated my profile today and added in the line "I own my own business. It's sort of a Learning Annex for relationships" my profile review submission was declined. That line? Was my ONLY change. Only one. And when they read that, suddenly the Customer Care section of Match hopped to attention. But the fake profiles I reported that use photos of actors? Still active.
And while I'm on my rant, what about the people (men and women) who use some really outdated photo of themselves as their primary photo but, when you click through the rest, you quickly learn that they've lost their hair or gained 20 pounds. Or their primary pic was taken at a really, really good angle and makes the person look like a model. The you sort through the rest of the photos and are shocked at how that person in the first shot is no where close to resembling the person in the rest of the photos. And what about the grainy, over pixlated photos? That's a sign that it's an old photo by the way. And, oh yeah, what about the guys who say their 5'11" but you can tell by their photos that they're really about 5'9"? That's an interestign little trick I learned from a friend fo mine who works for the NYPD. There ought to be a rule that all online dating sites require usuers to update their photos at least every six months.
