Online dating. Internet personals. Online Matchmaking. Call it what you will, the phenomenon of online dating (eg. Yahoo Personels and eHarmony) has established itself and is here to stay.

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Once seen as the domain of just a few computer geeks, online dating options have now gone mainstream. Forget about the stereotypes - the real world has caught up and now everyone realises the benefit to trying it 'online'! With generous investment from third party companies, the online dating industry is now above board, socially accepted and so much fun it might just be bad for your health!

Young people, old people, shy people, confident people, and everything in between. Online dating sites (eg. Yahoo Personels and eHarmony) now enjoy such popularity that the possibilities are literally endless. A typically hassle free signup process leads you into a world that might seem very familiar - 'search'. Just like looking for information on the internet, you can search vast networks of individuals to find the sort of person you're hoping for. Prefer brown hair? No problem! Is a good sense of humour a must-have? Right here! Do you need someone to share your love (or perhaps hate!) of cats with? Again - the odds are, you're bound to find more than a few individuals to consider contacting.

With this modern twist to dating, the rules have also changed. Gone are the times when your first impression necessarily has to be a physical one. Worrying about your hair, or the extra couple of pounds Thanksgiving gave you need no longer be the defining characteristic that your potential friend, or perhaps date, will remember. By choosing to do your dating online, you can decide what you let others know and what you decide to keep to yourself for now. Likeminded couples can get to know each other as personalities before they get to know one another as actual bodies. Of course, some people do decide to show a picture of themselves to others from the get-go (yahoo personals.com), but that's rarely expected.

The world of online dating - Yahoo Personnals, Date.com, Match.com, True.com etc.- puts you in the driving seat. You're in control and you decide what works for you and how you want to go about handling your dating fun. Sometimes, the word 'dating' is a misnomer - you don't actually have to date anyone! Some of the most lasting friendships have been found through dating websites and similar types of networks. Really, this is inevitable - when you get people who like the same things in life together, friendships blossom.

Online dating, through a professional website, is a great way to meet potential friends, dates and companions. However it need not end there! Taking an enjoyable online relationship to 'the next level' can be one of the most exciting and potentially beneficial moves you can make. Meeting your new friend in the outside world, with the proper precautions taken, affords you significant peace of mind.

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Already, last quarter, Americans have helped make the online dating industry (eg. Yahoo Personels, eHarmony and Lavalife.com) earn upwards of $100 million! This kind of money goes a long way to legitimising online dating peersonals as a trendy and popular endeavour. It's not just the money though - I'm sure you've seen the adverts on television and heard them on the radio. Pick up any glossy magazine from the stall and you shouldn't be surprised to read about how emails inspired new love, or how a couple remember their first 'webcam chat'. Could you imagine the previous generation using such phrases!

Online dating (personnals) is here to stay, and in some form or another, you've probably encountered it already. The lines have become blurred between dating websites and friendship websites - appropriately of course, as who really knows when friendship might develop into something more?