Dating.com

"Writing these things is so awkward"; "just looking for a nice girl"; "want to share a laugh"; "someone smart, who can carry on a conversation"...When you first enter the online dating world you feel like you hit the jackpot. Here, gathered in one digital utopia are men who are looking for exactly what you are. They are not trying to get an easy lay, they are tired of the bar scene-- they have invested their hard earned wages in finding a match-- a girl like you. But when your match is only a click away...are you really any closer?

At first I was humiliated. Has it really come to this? After years of feeling like there were so many adorable, available men and if only I didnt have a boyfriend I could have my pick of them...has it really come to digital dating? No. I mean, the people who date online are creeps. They are losers who can't meet someone in the real world and revert to their dotcom fantasy world for fulfillment. It was a good friend raving about her boyfriend that changed my mind. He was smart, fun and sweet-- and she found him online. Try it--- she assured me: you get free dinners and drinks, you meet interesting people in a new city and if you don't like someone you can never click on them again.

It got me thinking, but I still was not convinced, so I went out. It took one night at a hot Manhattan bar to get me off the streets and online. After being asked why I went to college with tits like mine and being told that "once I go black I'll never go back" I decided to go back to my apartment and sign up to date online.

Being online is like shopping online. It is not real until you actually see the product at your door. At first it seems like a dream. You can scan profiles before deciding to 'chat' you can filter the losers and flirt with the cuties. You get "hotlisted" and adored. Emails await you in the morning to tell you how many men are "interested" in you. In seconds the world of dating becomes manageable--and fun. But then come the dates and you realize-- just like the hot men in bars can turn out to be assholes, the sweet guys online can disappoint as well.

Yet, while I have had my fair share of "interesting" dates, the biggest disappointment has been that none of them have been worth a second chance. Given infinite options and infinite opportunities-- given an environment where everyone is gathered for the sole purpose of meeting someone-- I still cannot seem to find the right guy. The digital dating world is not as different from the real world as I had hoped. Yes, I can delete the douchebags, but they can also delete me. Digital rejection stings like the real thing. And as I continue to meet men that disappoint, I start to wonder if this is as good as it gets. Maybe the myth of suitable men is nothing more than a cruel joke on women in our 20s. It should be obvious-- the online dating world thrives on the harshness of reality. So embrace your digital ice cream, ladies, because Ben and Jerry are the only sure thing.