It’s the end of the year and you’ve tried it all. Going out with the girls, City-slicking alone, blind dates, meet up groups, even rekindling with ex’s . Nothing has worked. No whirlwind rendezvous; No short-lived ball and chain; heck not even a bad romance. Let’s be real, we’re in the age of technology. When all else fails and it seems that the dating pool is more like the dead sea, it’s time to throw in the net…(the Internet that is) and scroll.

Ah yes, online dating. A multi-million dollar industry chalk full of fish lip faces, bathroom body shoots and elementary like introductions. Put up your profile and majority of the time you’ve signed up for endless e-chatter with little chance of meeting someone special. No matter the dating site, from Black Planet to Zoosk, It seems that we’ve become accustomed to hiding behind the security blanket of IMs, emails and text messages. I have to admit this is where I envy the lovers of yesteryear with their stories of chance meetings and fate-filled encounters. It’s all the warmth and fuzziness that’ll make you want to puke on your favorite sweater just to feel better. So what’s a single to do? Give up? Give in? Not yet.

It’s true you hear the real stories of real people who have met, fell in love and are happily living by their “titles”. It is somewhat encouraging and depressing at the same time. You pound your chest in belief, that-YES! It too can happen to you. But then you question, what am I doing wrong? Did I put a body shot where a face shot should’ve been? Did I say I liked hiking when I should’ve said hand gliding instead? Was I too adventurous or not adventurous enough?

Online dating is like a time-warp of rejection, you’re getting it at warp speed, all at once. No reply, short reply, rude reply, not interested reply, then finally THE REPLY. Finally a witty girl whose message makes you laugh. At last a guy who writes more than 100 characters in a message and doesn’t misspell. After a few emails, a dozen IMs, hundreds of text messages and one phone call, you finally meet and like an ending to a disappointing climax… it stops. No more emails, No IMs, a text here or there and zero phone calls. When sparks fly online they often times fizzle quicker than they began.

Amiss the great personalities (or façade) sometimes the face-face chemistry just isn’t there. Does every relationship have to start with a dose of that pit-in-your-groin-call-the-fire-department-cause-your-so-hot feeling? We go into it prewired, forgoing the notion that best friendships can grow into long-term romances. So why not stay friends or at least in contact after that first meeting? After all you’ve built up a great online relationship thus far. Perhaps, with all the social networking, we think “Who just needs another friend when we’re really trying to find love?”

So what happens when all the virtual excitement you’ve built up comes smashing down after the first encounter-Nothing. You get thrown back into the “pool” awaiting another bait and hook and the cycle continues. Don’t get your gills in a gadget, simply take charge and do more “fishing”. There are too many online success stories to just give up and there are too many singles to just give in. So when it feels like all the fish in the sea are still not enough, bridle up your ego, put on your best fish face and take the advice of Lora (Dora’s smarter sister):

“Just keep scrollin-Just keep scrollin”