October 10th, 2011 
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When Heather Thomas discovered that a friend created an online profile for her on Match.com,, she decided to give the online dating service a try. Just over a year later, she is engaged and planning her wedding on Nov. 12.
“I didn’t want to go to the bars and find someone that way, so I decided to do it,” said Thomas, of Benton.
Match making has been around for centuries, but in the last decade, the Internet has taken over the role with dozens of online dating services offering promises of love and happily-ever-afters.
The trend to meet partners online has gone global, according to a 2010 BBC World Service poll which reports that 30 percent of Web users believe the Internet is a good place to find a spouse. In the U.S., 21 percent regard the Internet as a good place to find love.
According to David Lanzillotti, licensed professional counselor in Bossier City, the trend isn’t surprising.
“I just think that it’s a smart way of utilizing your time,” he said. “I think Generation X and Generation Y are characterized by being technology oriented and all that is really natural for them.”
But it’s not just younger generations that are finding love. Billy and Sandy Templeton, of Bright Star, Ark., were divorcees who simply turned to a dating Web site to meet people. Neither one was looking for anything serious, but after meeting each other online they decided to meet in person. New to online dating, both were nervous about meeting a complete stranger.
“My family was like ‘uh oh.’ They were scared until they met Billy,” Sandy Templeton said.
Thomas and her fiancee, Robby Lockwood, of Shreveport, were cautious as well. They chose to meet in a public place.
“I think that with any situation you need to be careful,” Lockwood said. “There’s people on there for other reasons, and they may misrepresent things.”
Lockwood attributes the increase in dating sites to a change in society and the way people communicate with each other.
“I think it’s a societal thing where you have more Facebook, more texting, and even in someone’s neighborhood, 15 years ago you knew the person that lived next door,” he said. “I guess people are more impersonal.”
According to Billy Templeton, people are busier than they used to be and meeting others online is simply easier.
“People don’t have time for a social life anymore,” he said. “It’s convenient.”
Just four months after meeting online, the Templetons tied the knot.
“He is my prince charming and the shoe fits,” Sandy Templeton said. “After all these years, I only thought it happened on the Lifetime channel. I never thought it would happen to me and it did.”
Article source: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20111010/LIVING/110080315/1004/living
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