Many Americans this Valentine’s Day will face the decision of spending yet another lonely night, buying themselves chocolate and watching Dawson’s Creek reruns, or finding love by submitting themselves to the wild world wide web—online dating sites.  While sites like Match.com and eHarmony have become increasingly popular and well-known in the past few years, Valentine’s Day attracts even more lovebirds to the sites.

    According to Match.com, between Jan. 1 and February 14, the site’s usage increases 10-20%.  And just as more people put their names into sites, the pool of dates become larger and increases the chance of finding a more compatible date.

    Movies like You’ve Got Mail intertwined technology and romance, and it seems the idea has caught on with the American public.  According to a 2010 survey performed by the City University of New York, called How Couples Meet and Stay Together, between years 2007 and 2009, 23% of couples in the US met online.  Though sites are often too young to show lasting relationships still, many of the couples have lasted into marriage.

    More popular sites, like Plenty of Fish, are free of charge and require only a self-written biography and a picture of your face. Another site, Tagged, is free but less advertised than eHarmony, which has a joining fee.  As it happens, national dating sites have an industry worth $260 million per year, and worldwide, the number grows to over $1.8 billion dollars.

    Still, images and profiles produced online cannot speak entirely for reality, and expectations may shatter on that awkward first date. When filling out questionnaires, one may skim a few digits off of their weight, or lie about age as no legal documentation claiming personal information is necessary.  And it often takes years to find a partner on the site, especially as the choices presented may edit important information to hide truth from the sites’ viewing public.

    “See why eHarmony is responsible for nearly 5% of marriages in the U.S,” the eHarmony site says.  The sites offering matches for online users offer hope to adults who have had little luck finding a spouse or the alleged “soul-mates” advertised on the commercials. High school students cannot yet relate to online dating; generally the sites attract an older audience who are looking for long-term relationships.

    “I would be afraid of meeting a date from the internet.  After hearing all those stories about people who date online and end up finding a creepy guy who is living in a basement, you have to be aware who people say they are is not always true,” said senior Cassie Soucey.

    As the sites say they help couples to unite, many find it takes months, or even years for someone to show interest in them.  While some find social situations awkward, talking to strangers over the internet may put men and women in equally uncomfortable situations. Whether or not the sites are successful, they continue to offer hope to people in search of marriage or long-term partnership, and the growing popularity is undeniable.