I recently came across an article online which discussed what it said were the top three myths about online dating. The article dispelled all of the myths but it made me wonder whether these myths are even things that people actually think are true anymore. According to the article, the three top myths that there are about online dating are that it doesn't work, it's not safe and that only computer nerds are on those sites. If I polled a group of my friends about whether or not they believe this, they'd all say those myths are absurd. But many also argue that the average person probably thinks that they're true. I'm having a hard time believing that.

I do admit that I'm biased. I live in San Francisco, a technological city where everyone is online and where most people are single and looking to meet other people for hooking up, hanging out and maybe a little bit of something more. I met most of my friends (as in platonic) through Craig's List when I moved there so the people that I know are people who are comfortable with the world of online interaction. I forget sometimes that the rest of the country might not be in the same place as far as online dating goes. Where I live and within my circle of friends, it's just a given that people meet online. But in other places it is apparently still somewhat taboo.

I think that of the three myths cited by the article, the one that is most likely to be believed by the people that I know is the myth that online dating doesn't work. Since everyone I know has done a lot of this kind of dating, they've had their fair share of bad experiences. We've all had dates that never show up, dates that go badly, relationships that start and go nowhere and relationships that last awhile and taper off. But that's not unique to online dating, that's what dating is all about.

Do you believe in any of these myths? If not, which myths do you think are out there about online dating which are more likely to be believed?