I just read an article in the Houston Chronicle that quotes a study done in UT about women's behavior when meeting men through online dating websites. The report finds that women are very careful and selective during the screening process, but once they meet someone in person, all caution is thrown to the wind, with nearly a third of women having sex in the first date and many of those without any protection at all. Why am I not surprised?
It's easy to be sensible when you are not engaged emotionally. It's not as easy to be careful when chemistry comes into play. Sometimes people forge bonds online and share very intimate stuff. When they meet in person, it's pretty hard to discard all that, go back to square one and treat the date as a total stranger.
Somewhere between Old Redneck Man and Gabe, I had a one-night stand with this dude I met online on eHarmony. Going into it I knew it was a bad idea, and it ended up being odd and unsatisfying. At least I was no dummy and used protection. Afterwards I felt duped, not by the guy, but by fucking eHarmony and their promise of helping you find your soul mate. 29 dimensions of compatibility my ass.
That's an interesting point, Ingrid - about the intimacy online dating fosters, and how it impacts actual encounters. Something to remember!
ReplyDeleteI met my partner online - through Yahoo personals. On our first date he brought me the biggest pumpkin I'd ever seen from his vegetable patch and my housemates called him 'Pumpkin Man' for months after.
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