Do you know an online dater? You might think the answer is no, but more and more the odds are that you do. The reality is though that most people are too embarrassed to admit that they are using the internet to find dates. For years now, there has been a certain social stigmatism attached to dating through the internet. People continue to think of online dating sites as scams, pornography, and a waste of time. But the reality is that thousands of people have found real romance online, and more continue to every day. But how many of them actually admit to their friends and family that online dating is how they met their current date?

Online dating firms have sprung up all over the internet, and in fact some of them are scams. The reality of any internet dating site is that it is only successful if it has membership. The larger the member base, the better the chance of finding a compatible match. Most sites use filtering criteria to try and pair people together based on key points of interest. Beyond that, some sites actually use personality tests to try and match their clients. How is this any worse than meeting a guy at a bar?

Some analysts theorize that the real reason for the snobbery against online dating is the impersonal aspect of it. You often "meet" and have "conversations" with a potential date through email and chat long before you actually talk on the phone. Critics contend that you can't really learn anything about a person through such a sterile medium. The reality is that in many cases people are more comfortable getting to know each other through the semi-anonymous nature of the internet. Online dating benefits from that anonymity.

So should you tell your friends and family? Frankly, if it's working for you why not? There's nothing to be ashamed of. Internet dating is a real, viable alternative. And the sooner the rest of your social group accepts it, the better for you and for everyone who finds happiness through a keyboard.