Do dating sites work?

In their quest to find Mr. Right, Mr. Right Now, or Mr. You’ll-do-until-someone-better-comes-along, more and more women turn to dating sites.  (Obviously, the same applies to men)

It’s a smart move I suppose.  There’s no need to wait for a guy to approach them, no need to suffer their pick-up lines, or go on a series of first dates that may or may not be enjoyable.  

Women (and men) can pick and choose between a series of candidates and get to know them in relative anonymity.

But do these dating sites work? 

John doesn’t think so.  He’s been a member of Match.com for some time now and is far from happy with their services.  He sends out winks and either gets nothing in return or someone winks back and wants to chat. 

Either the chat leads to nothing or the girl of his choice provides her email address and website, which turns out to be a porn site.  She’s not looking for a potential boyfriend, she looking for a client.

In addition to not attracting the right type of girls, John and other members of Match.com have their doubts about the site.  Toward the end of their membership or when they’re no longer a member, they suddenly get winks from pretty girls.  Who can resist?  When they become a member, or renew their membership, the girl in question mysteriously disappeared.  

Could these “ghost girls” be a way of attracting members?

Other sites, like Lavalife and eHarmony seem to be operating much the same way.  Especially Lavalife, who appears to be the favourite of girls aiming to attract clients.

Ladies and gentlemen, do you really need dating sites to meet potential boyfriends/girlfriends?  How about smiling at someone and see what happens?  How about just walking up to someone and making small talk? Girls are everywhere.  They’re in grocery stores, at the gym, in book stores and their absolute favorite … hardware stores.

Why do you think girls linger at the power tool department?  They’re not interested in drills and saws, they’re waiting for the right operator.

If all else fails, visit a shoe store … you know how fond girls are of shoes, right?  Gentlemen, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.   

For thousands of years men and women have found partners without the convenience of the internet.  Instead of paying a monthly fee to a dating site, why not just ask your family how they managed to get hooked up?