LOS ANGELES (U-WIRE) — Although only one of 60 University of Southern California students surveyed has used an Internet dating service, online dating communities reported a rise in traffic since Sept. 11.
Dating service representatives from Match.com, which saw a 70 percent rise in membership from September to October, said the tragedy has caused many to re-evaluate their priorities and to focus on relationships.
“We generally see peaks right after the first of the year and especially around Valentine’s Day, but after Sept. 11, we had a huge spike,” said Kathleen Roldan, director of dating for Match.com. “People are referencing it in their profiles, and a few have indicated that it’s the reason they’ve signed up.”
But while the Web may seem like a safe, anonymous place to meet potential mates, many students cited fear as their main reason for staying away from online personals.
“With technology today, you don’t know who you’re talking to,” said Leticia Campbell, a freshman majoring in biological sciences. “There are some pretty creepy people out there.”
CNN reported the increase in online dating services earlier this month.
Even with pictures, the service is still too anonymous, said Erik Brown, a graduate student in professional writing. Unlike a blind date, a person does not know who is supplying information.
Fears are not unwarranted. Brian Dance, a 20-year-old student at the University of California, Irvine, is on trial for beating, torturing and cutting swastikas into the cheek and forehead of a girl he met online Dec. 20, according to a Los Angeles Times article.
Also in recent news was Daniel Zabuski, 41, a registered sex offender, was convicted on Feb. 11 with six counts of sexual assault, ranging from forced oral copulation to attempted sodomy in the rapes of three women he met online.
“You’re buying the surprise package,” said Jerald Jellison, professor of psychology. “People can be whoever they want to be, and even more simply, what means one thing to one person may not mean the same to another. How do you know what ‘good sense of humor’ means to someone else?”
Roldan defended the safety of online dating, noting that Match.com uses a double-blind e-mail system, where disclosure is entirely in the hands of the member.
“Our Web zine, MatchScene, offers tips from dating experts about protecting yourself, too,” she said. “We recommend that first meetings take place in a familiar, public location, where you can go for coffee or a drink. Tell people where you’re going beforehand and follow your instincts. That gut feeling generally doesn’t lie.”
However, students were concerned with the absence of that gut feeling when e-mail was the only means of communication.
“Trying to make a connection based on checking a few of the same things in a questionnaire is just unappealing,” said Jenny Krochmal, a junior majoring in cinema-television production.
The one surveyed student who tried online services had a somewhat different perspective.
“I felt like it was the same as going out to a bar and meeting people,” said Tracie Williams, a senior majoring in communication, who used Matchmaker.com. “I just felt more comfortable e-mailing because you can talk longer. I always met people in a public place that I chose and never went alone, but I met some good people. I definitely didn’t have any crazy stalkers — just some of your typical disappointing dates.”
The chances of finding lasting relationships on the Web are about the same as finding them elsewhere, Jellison said.
“You don’t have to spend the time or risk the social embarrassment of a face-to-face meeting at first, and it can be a fast way of screening potential candidates,” he said.
“People have the chance to fall in love from the inside out,” Roldan said, quoting her boss’s favorite saying.
Roldan said 18 percent of Match.com’s members are males aged 18 to 24, and females in the same age group make up 11 percent of the membership — a sizeable jump from demographics listed by Date-a-doc.com, where only 12 percent of members are students.
— The Daily Trojan’s Web site can be found at www.dailytrojan.com.