Finding the right match with online dating_美文

Finding the right match with online dating

Ten or fifteen years ago, online dating was too new to be socially acceptable. But now, many people search for a partner online.

Online dating is very different from traditional dating, in which people spend time with one another, slowly learning about each other. With online dating, people learn a lot about a potential partner before even meeting them.

We spoke with Mario, who had recently moved to the city of Baltimore, Maryland. His friends paid for him to use an online dating site. He thought he knew just what he was looking for.

Finding the right match with online dating1

Couples who met through eHarmony were photographed in New York City as part of the the company's 10th anniversary celebration in 2010

MARIO: "A non-American, non-scientist, nothing related with Latin. And I ended up with the completely opposite."

"Opposites attract" is a popular saying. But online dating companies say the more similar two people are, the more likely they are to have a relationship that lasts a long time.

One of the largest online dating sites is eHarmony. It asks people who want to meet someone using the site to first answer more than four hundred questions. A secret mathematical algorithm then uses the answers to match people. An algorithm is a step-by-step process for solving a problem.