MUCH LIKE A POKER GAME YOU SAY?

I agree that Lavalife has the potential to work. And it can. Their set up is fine. They control as much as they can and leave the rest of the behaviour up to the members. But I totally agree that online dating is addictive. There are women and men logging on to Lavalife all day. For what? It's easy to tell because Lavalife has a system that shows people who logged on last as "top of the list" in their picture gallery. The same people are there at the top, everytime, everyday, for years. Do they have a life? All you have to do is log on once a month and you'll see the same men and women at the top, no exceptions!

This is a great topic for research. I think that people addicted to online dating are not really interested in finding a relationship. They most likely display common symptoms of addiction. i.e. frequent and prolongued use, a feeling of satisfaction and comfort when logged on to the site, a secret contempt for the place ("I hate this place"), inability to stop ("maybe next time I'll log on and find/try....blah, blah, blah"), symptoms of withdrawal when not there ("gotta check Lavalife!!!!"), excuses as to why they are on the site for years ("I haven't found the Right One"), excuses to return to the service even if they find the right one ("She coughed too loud on the phone". Next!), and denial (I'm only here until the Right One shows up).

So heads up! The first question to ask if you use the service is....."How long have you been here, and have you had any relationships with anyone you have met here?. If the answers are..."over 3 years and NO", than this is your clue to well....RUN! If he hasn't stopped logging on after anyone he met during all those years on the site.....I'd say he's hooked on a "CONCEPT" -- the hit, the smiles, the 2D pics, the possibilities, the rejections, the chase, the non accountability, the game and the strategies (that keep changing with experience), the wins and the losses. Much like a poker game you say? Eventually, this becomes more important than a REAL relationship with a REAL person. Sad but true!

I'll be waiting for the attacks on this review. Addiction doesn't like criticism.