True.com is a start up dating site which promotes increased safety features for members. They commissioned a focus group to support their premise that daters are concerned about their safety and security online. They pre-screen members to ensure that the married and felons do not apply. Great idea, but has any one yet figured out how to deal with more pervasive honesty issues like the misleading photos?!
Knock, Knock, Who's There? Dr. James Houran Chief Psychology Officer, True.com Excerpts In her keynote address at the 2004 Internet Dating/Online Social Networking Industry Association inaugural meeting, industry blogger Judith Meskill asserted that women’s most crucial concern with online matchmaking and dating services was the issue of safety and security. Specifically, there is an assumed negative stigma to online social introduction services that customers are vulnerable to potentially unsafe (e.g., convicted felons) or dishonest individuals (e.g., married posing as single). Additionally, Meskill argued that women’s concerns may be significantly and negatively affecting the growth of the online dating industry.
Are these assertions true? Some might argue that, no, such comments are just scare tactics. After all, a recent press release from Online Dating magazine (an online dating industry review site) noted that most people using online dating services “are between the ages of 20 and 45 years old. They are professionals and non-professionals alike and have a wide range of interests and tastes.” Moreover, Jupiter Research estimates that 20 percent of online users browse various online dating services and that more than $300 million a year is spent for memberships to online dating services.
TRUE.com commissioned an independent evaluation of the perceptions of online matchmaking sites among young, single females in light of these two seemingly disparate scenarios. Russell Research conducted the survey online from July 9-12, 2004, among 603 single women across the United States. These women represented different ethnicities, income levels and parental status.
So … what were the outcomes? Judith Meskill appears to be correct in her observations and cautions. Overall, the women in the study, all who were within the target market for online dating, were strongly concerned about safety and honesty when meeting people using online dating/ matchmaking sites.
It seems that women approach online dating as a tool – an alternative to traditional (offline) ways of meeting and interacting with potential partners. Our focus group research reveals that many men share this view as well. Assuming that most people here in the U.S. regard online dating as a legitimate approach to mate selection, it is easy to understand why issues of safety and honesty are foremost on their minds.
This focus group was small, and commissioned by a dating website and not an idependent research company, but does make a point that if dating online is here to stay, the industry should continue to make it safer for daters. Check out True if safety is a real concern, but in my own personal experience over the last five years, sticking with the established sites like MatchMaker, Match, eHarmony, and using common sense, will make your online experience enjoyable. Personally, I think you are more likely to experience honesty issues related to daters who are 3 inches shorter/taller, 20 pounds heavier, and 10 years older than posted pictures or descriptions. You are not going to experience that phenomenon in the offline dating world.
LINKS TO MENTIONED SITES
True.com
eHarmony
Match.com
MatchMaker
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