Internet dating has become one of the most popular methods of finding a mate. The reality is, people today use their computers to communicate online with and not just to respond to e-mail’s. Internet dating is easily accessible and gives an individual the ability to pick and choose who they are looking for thanks to detailed search engine criteria, making it truly the future of dating now and for some time to come. It also enables an individual to broaden their resources in order to make an ideal ‘match’ and long gone are the days of hoping to find someone ‘local’ in their hometown. Distance is no longer a hindrance as it once was and people are looking for instant gratification thanks to online chatting forums, instant messaging and online videos. A user can very quickly assess if they like an individual and are interested in them by their looks and how they communicate on screen. It’s estimated that over 22 million users last year tried internet dating. That’s a staggering amount and current users are still pushing that number even higher.

The pros about internet dating are obvious – you meet someone and are happy! Or, if they are not the ‘mate’ you were looking for, you make a friend or several friends for life, and if you are really lucky, you find your ‘soul-mate’. It doesn't get much better than that.

However, there is a downside to internet dating and it's that perhaps you are always looking at the grass as always being greener on the other side. Perhaps there are too many choices, too many people to meet, and it keeps you from being able to form a deep and committed relationship with someone. Your fear and preoccupation that there just might be ‘someone else’ out there may just keep you from the one who is truly right for you and is standing right in front of you.

Ultimately, it’s the ease of finding someone, the sheer volume and number of people whom you can meet, the convenience of finding someone without having to leave your home that makes internet dating so popular for not just a younger generation but for all ages, young and old. It’s the wave of the future and a future that is here to stay.