Now before you go jumping to conclusions, when I say it's sad, I don't mean that the people who participate in online dating are sad ie: pathetic. What I mean is I think it's sad that our society has, I hate to say evolved, but for lack of a better word, evolved to a state where our physical interaction with people has become so limited where we truly have a need for online dating services.

I love my computer as much as anyone. Heck! I'd be deep doo doo without it. I make my living with it. But between the internet and cell phones and texting and on and on, we have become so technologically advanced that we've advanced ourselves right out of normal social interaction.

We all have SO many friends these days! But... what percentage of those friends are from FaceBook and not actually part of your physical day to day life? (you will note I do not say 'real life') I've connected with old friends and made new ones online too, but how many of them have I actually seen face to face? Damn few. Even the actual friends that are part of your physical life you don't see as often as you might have ten years ago. Why? Because now you can text them and email them and keep up to date on FaceBook and Twitter. You don't really need to make time to be together in person to catch up with one another, you can do it through technology when it's convenient.

So it's no wonder why people have to resort to meeting potential mates via computer dating services. Their opportunities for meeting new people in person have dwindled as their virtual worlds have grown. While I am glad that the people who use those sites are finding happiness, I just can't help feel sad that they are not meeting them the old fashioned way. You see someone; you feel a spark; you flirt; you ask about him/her; all the fun and mystery that goes into meeting someone new and getting their interest. It just doesn't hold any romance to me to be matched by a computer.

And again, I love my computer. And I value all the friends I've made and reconnected with online. I just wish we didn't have to trade so much face to face time for face to screen time.
As much as we gain by being able to connect globally via the internet, we also miss out on a lot.