In an era where the Internet rules supreme over the dating scene do the traditional dating agencies have a place, or have their high-tech counterparts made them obsolete? Well the answer lies in the fact that not everyone is computer savvy, and even those who are don't feel comfortable talking with a faceless stranger.

Pick up a magazine and you'll still find advertisements for real live dating agencies where you complete questionnaires on paper and can talk about the kind of partner you're hoping to find with a real member of staff across a desk. Some of these agencies will even allow you to make a video where you talk about yourself, your interests and what you're hoping for in a potential partner. While you may not be so confident about making a video, you'll certainly enjoy the idea of being able to watch people you're interested in telling you about themselves. Unlike the Internet you'll have a good idea about their physical appearance and mannerisms before you even meet up!

Agency members also use real names rather than nicknames, and their staff will have certain guarantees as regards the gender and age of the member based on the fact that they have actually seen them! Internet dating is fraught with stories of people who have been shocked to find out that rather than corresponding with a 30 year old man, they've actually been emailing a 16 year old -- and some people have been stunned to realize they were writing to someone of the opposite sex to what they'd thought.

A good traditional dating agency removes this kind of 'surprise' by requiring all members to have a face-to-face meeting with agency staff before they are placed on their register. Another advantage of some dating agencies is that they allow you to meet at their offices before you go on the date so that you don't have to give your address out to a stranger, or even walk into a public place to wait for someone you don't know.

People who use traditional dating agencies instead of simply pressing a few keys on a computer keyboard do so because they want a more personal approach. A computer screen works for many people who are at home in that kind of environment but for those with little or no experience of computers, and even those who have but prefer their relationships to be less technically controlled, the dating agencies still have the edge.

If you're looking for a dating partner, and the cyber dating scene just isn't working for you, why not give a traditional dating agency a try? They may not be as quick to sign-up with as an Internet dating site, but at least you know that the people you date there will have had to go through the same process before they were accepted as members. At the end of the day, you're looking for a date and so how you find that date doesn't matter as long as it's one that you are comfortable enough with to allow your true personality to shine through.