Dates and duds: the dating websites right for you

REVIEW

By Mary Anne Ghobrial

7/06/2014

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The relationship world is becoming more popular in today’s internet age, with

dating websites targeting everything from young people hoping to “hook up”, to

women dating older men for money.

 

But are they really as useful as they claim to be?

 

 

Seeking Arrangement

 

Seekingarrangement.com is just one of many U.S. dating websites. This site targets

rich, older men and women wishing to date younger people. Known as ‘Sugar

Daddies’, ‘Sugar Mommies’ and ‘Sugar Babies’, the website is a branch of the

Seeking Millionaire label, and has over 1.5 million users in the U.S. alone.

 

Standard membership is free, though you also have the choice of signing up for a

monthly price of $20.00. Doing so means you have the option of keeping all your

photos private, something standard members do not. It takes roughly 24 hours for

your profile to be approved, and then it’s off to the messages and incessant winks.

 

Sometimes known as ‘benefactors’, the website is made with the intention that an

older man or woman who has a great deal of money can spoil an attractive, younger

partner often half their age.

 

Some members are eccentric, while others sound just a little too strange to ever risk a meet. One person may send you an 800-word message “wishing to get to know you more”, while another will repeat their need to “show you a good time”. Don’t get me wrong, we’re always up for a good time – but maybe not this guy’s idea of one.

 

Needless to say, the website may not have the best user verification system. Overnight I became Maggie, the gorgeous twenty-three year old blond, “hoping for a little fun”. Firstly, I’m not twenty-three, nor can I ever pass as blond. Despite saying they do security checks on all photographs for authenticity, I think it’s safe to say the website didn’t check mine closely enough.

 

 

 

Positives: Website simple, easy to navigate

Negatives: Easy to make a fake profile

www.seekingarrangement.com

Score: 5/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marital Affair

 

Another dating website taking flight in 2014 is maritalaffair.com.au. As its name suggests, Marital Affair targets single men and women wishing to have an affair with a married partner. After all, monogamy in today’s relationship world might very well be overrated.

 

A popular form of dating in Australian society, according to the website, Marital Affair prides itself on allowing all members to retain their privacy. This is shown through the difficulty in finding website users on search engines such as Google. Sign up here is also free.

 

Most of the people here will say they want to know you. Though, considering the website is built to easily navigate having an affair, I suspect when a person writes, “I read your profile, and I think you’re the perfect one for me,” that they’re not being wholly truthful.

 

That said, some individuals on this website are perhaps just as frustrating as Seeking Arrangement. Men will also spend lengthy amounts of time writing messages on how amazing one’s profile is, time that may be better spent buying endless supplies of alcohol. After all, what girl wants to sift through page after page of love letters without a bottle of tequila?

 

Still, if you’re interested in the more risqué relationships, and clichés like “you’re just what the doctor ordered”, this may be the site for you.

 

 

 

Positives: Sign up is free; secures privacy of members

Negatives: Website designed for those with acquired tastes

www.maritalaffair.com.au

Score: 4/10

 

 

 

 

E-Harmony

 

And then there’s eharmony.com.au. Just like the other two websites, members who do not wish to pay a monthly fee retain limited access, such as uploading profile pictures and viewing prospective matches. From there, one can apply for a $19.95 monthly fee to see who has viewed their profile and request private photos from existing members.

 

New users are required to fill out a personality profile, where they rate their appearance and personality in a lengthy questionnaire. This, at first, appears to be the type of website people seeking a more ordinary relationship go to. And sure, some people here seem genuinely … normal.

 

But it doesn’t take long to recognise the similarities between this website and the real world. In it, there are over one million Australian users. However, where one might receive an average of 15 messages a week on Seeking Arrangement, E-Harmony may see you only receiving three.

 

And perhaps the reason for this is not because those like myself attract the weird and wonderful. Perhaps there are just too many people on dating websites like E-Harmony today. While this is supposed to give you a variety of relationship prospects, it’s also a painful reminder of the real, non-virtual world. Those you’re interested in aren’t necessarily single, while the single men and women want something you might not be willing to offer.

 

 

Positives: Sign up is free; known record of people finding matches

Negatives: Large number of users, may detract from finding ‘right’ match

www.eharmony.com.au

Score: 7/10

 

 

 

The point of online dating originated for those wishing to seek a long-term partner. Now, however, we’re finding everyone is dating online.

 

And as great as this may theoretically be, and as intriguing as the websites are, I soon fear the online dating world will become just like the real one – filled with a sea of relationship prospects, all impossible to find behind the masses of eccentric and loud people.