Virtual Intimacy Leads To Real Carelessness

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- Sep 5 -- A recent study of 740 women with online dating ads showed that the women exercised great caution when communicating with strangers and meeting them for the first time. However, for the 568 women who did finally meet their dates, 30% reported having sex on the first date and 77% of those didn't use condoms. Among the general population, condom use with a new partner is more common. Why are online daters less careful? Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com, said people hoping for romantic relationships sometimes project what they're looking for onto virtual mates they may not know much about. He called it the "halo syndrome". "It can be pretty high emotion and high passion on that first meeting", he said.