Suggested revision:
When online dating first became available, many people thought that it would simplify romance. Hopeful singles believed that they could type in a list of criteria — sense of humor, college education, green eyes, good job — and a database would select the perfect mate. Thousands of people signed up for services and filled out their profiles, confident that true love was only a few mouse clicks away. As it turns out, however, virtual dating is no easier than traditional dating. Online daters still have to contact the people they find, exchange emails and phone calls, and meet in the real world. Although a database might produce a list of possibilities and screen out obviously undesirable people, it can’t predict chemistry. More often than not, people who seem perfect online just don’t click in person. Electronic services do help single people expand their pool of potential dates, but they’re no substitute for the hard work of romance.