In 2006, senior internet dating was somewhat new. Here are comments from then.

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By Tom P Blake Finding Love After 50

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From 2006: Internet dating is booming. We hear all sorts of facts and claims tossed around by date matching sites and Internet industry proponents. There are more than 400 matching services and the industry has grown tenfold in the last few years. Statements of success abound. Some sites claim to be the largest, others to have had thousands of marriages as a result of couples meeting on their sites.

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But, for singles 50, 60 and 70-plus, is Internet dating all it’s cracked up to be?

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On a positive note, the Internet allows older singles to easily reach out across America to meet other singles they wouldn’t have otherwise met. Some have met mates who live or work in the same city. The potential for finding a mate is real.

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One of our readers, Linda, wrote that she married a man she met online three months ago. “A younger man. I’m 57 and he is 53,” Linda wrote (her words, not mine). While the three months seems a little quick to tie the knot, still, she met her hubby online.

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But the negatives of Internet dating are numerous, so numerous that many older singles have given up on it or are avoiding it altogether. One woman in her 50s who requested confidentiality shared her story. I’ll call her Sue.

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Sue joined one of the large matching services and did what many older singles do, embellished her profile. She wrote she was two years younger and two inches taller than she is. A couple of years, a couple of inches, what’s the big deal with a little internet dishonesty?

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She also wrote that she lives in an affluent city, but doesn’t. She works in the affluent city, but lives in a nearby city. Isn’t that the same? What’s a few miles among lovers?

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Sue met a man who lives nearby. “We had an unbelievable three weeks together and were destined for a long-term/marriage relationship,” she said. Sounds like Internet dating worked for her and her new beau.

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But then he learned of the profile embellishments. “He interpreted these as lies and said if I lied about these things, I would lie about other things and he never would have contacted me.” He told Sue that he hates the city where she lives.

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Sue said the man kept asking about her past relationships so she constantly talked about them, which made him mad. And yet, “He talked about his relationships and had many, many pictures of women that he dated (200). The more he talked, the more I talked. He said I bring angry feelings out in him and he didn’t want to see me anymore,” Sue said. And that ended the relationship.

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Sue’s story is just the tip of the iceberg on Internet dating negatives—people fib and masquerade as someone they aren’t. Not to mention that meeting someone compatible is difficult.

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And yet there are enough success stories for people in their 50s, 60s and 70s that older singles continue to Internet date. Many of them in our subscriber base, like our motorcycle riding couple from last week.

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Internet dating isn’t for the faint of heart. People who can’t handle rejection or rude treatment should avoid it. It shouldn’t be a single’s only avenue to try to meet someone. The Internet is a new ballgame for older singles, and a tough one in which to play.

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