Not too long ago, not only were people skeptical about meeting someone through an online dating service; it was a taboo. It comes with so much foreboding and insinuations; nothing about it is good. If ever somebody accesses the sites, it is almost always kept under wraps lest people would judge you with biased standards. Despite the secrecy, word about it spread proving that online dating is something very much alive and growing.

These days, online dating became open and popular to the point of amassing a great following. About 70 percent of the single Americans are said to be into thousands of dating service websites these days. The wide scale was set off by the viral spread of social networking sites which is in a different mode of meeting people too; many of which can also lead to dating. The popularity of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the likes set the stage for the social acceptance of meeting people online and, perhaps, dating.

People who remained traditional in their thinking and ways may still find this entire online dating game as unusual and would not dare join one. These are those who haven’t gotten around to accepting the influences of the Internet to modern life. There are the individuals who regard online dating as too impersonal and lack the proper decorum that must accompany preludes to intimate relationships. There are also people who are afraid that their intentions for joining those sites can be misinterpreted. Others, especially women, do not want to be regarded as without a “game” or are not desirable enough. Romance is still a big deal for many and it is somehow linked to everything that is traditional.

There are also fears that must be overcome to get into online dating. It is not easy to divulge everything about yourself to strangers much less in the virtual world. It also comes with dangers as one’s privacy and identity are stripped open to countless number of people.

It is a fact, however, that online dating cannot be dislodged anymore in its secured position as one of the most well sought websites in the Internet. Online dating service enjoys the following of many subscribers for many reasons.

One classical and frequently cited reason is the lack of time to go out and meet people. Busy people end up having zero social life and no game. Online dating provides them the opportunity to stay in the loop of people who are also interested to meet someone in the hope that they can find their match or soul mate. Those people in the sites are all ”up for the sale” being in a “singles environment”. This means that they can go straight to their purpose of getting to know each other without the need to go the long circuitous way. Most importantly, these sites provide the widest opportunity to meet countless number of “matches”. Yet, one is also allowed to sort the people they want to meet without having to go through a “free for all” search or exposing one’s privacy to everyone.

Guarding one’s privacy is an important concern for many who have fears about joining online dating sites. These fears are well founded because theft identity, online scams, spam and other cyber offenses and crimes were all bred by the Internet and online dating. These fears are well grounded because electronic privacy is so easy to violate. Giving away information to people you just met online is very risky. You do not even know if these people are really who they claim they are. This is also why technical innovations are being used to improve the privacy settings and features of many online dating sites.

These days many of the common fears for security and privacy issues are being addressed to provide the necessary protection to those who want to get into the excitement of online dating. The anonymity can be maintained until such time when both parties feel ready and secured about revealing their real identities.

Despite the security risks or being disliked by traditional romantics and moralists, online dating service will continue to flourish. As long as there are busy people who find it an easy, cheap and effective way of meeting people, they will continue to subscribe to these sites. As long as there are people who are shy, who lack confidence but are secretly longing to have some romance in their life, there will always be joiners in these sites. This is the blind date of the 21st century.