you know, as someone who spends most of her workday reading other people’s essays, proposals, and personal statements, i like to think i’m pretty deft at detecting the crap. i can smell the stink in an essay two lines into it. that’s why i’m so critical when it comes to reviewing online profiles that men “jazz up” to seem more interesting.
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let’s face it, we ALL have great personalities, love to travel, and have friends who will attest to our ability to juggle seven balls, do a one-handed cartwheel, bake a cake, help an old lady across the street, and donate to charity all at the same time. no really. just ask the friends!
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i mean, honestly. who’s going to write “i’m a socially stunted, emotionally crippled man/woman in a dead-end job still living in my parents’ house,” even if it IS the truth?
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and this is why i’m so skeptical of online dating sites. people are SHADY! i hate false advertising. Don’t claim to be something you’re not! 
but there also exists the possibility that the person is a very good writer, but dullsville, USA in person. that’s not their fault, but it is still tragic.
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yes, there are people out there who are fabulous but who just don’t have the time to meet people (*ahem* like yours truly 
), but they’re rare. and nothing in my profile is false, “doctored” to sound better, or misleading.
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the jury’s still out on whether or not i will take this online dating thing seriously. maybe if i knew couples that resulted from meeting online (and they actually lasted), i’d be less hesitant. but i’m still not sure…
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oh, one final word on the topic of instantaneous judgment of online profiles. i WILL judge you if you can’t spell “hiking” correctly, just as you will judge me for not being a 5′11″ blond barbie. that’s just the way things roll.
