Seeing red--the eHarmony story

Online dating is strange, but not new. But online relationship analysis? Online service eHarmony launched new service earlier this month, called eHarmony Marriage. The Web site, www.eharmony.com describes the service as an “interactive, online program designed to help couples experience greater understanding, appreciation, and connectedness.” Couples can take a questionnaire to get five key insights into their marriage.

East Bostonian Artina Young and her boyfriend, Sam Anstead, recently took the personality tests online out of curiosity to see if eHarmony thought they were compatible. The site offers a free personality profile and compatibility report.

Young, a media arts masters’ student at Emerson College in Boston, said the test took her about 20 minutes but “seemed really long”. She said the test was fun and funny, and thought the questions were relevant.

“I didn’t think whether I was a liberal or conservative had anything to do with my soul mate,” she said.

While taking the test, Young tried to answer questions without thinking about what qualities her boyfriend has, but what she would be looking for if she were single again. The section that asked for details about her level of sexual activity made her feel funny.

“I wouldn’t want someone that I would potentially date to know that information,” she said.

“[The test] asked me to describe myself. They had adjectives like beautiful and sexy on there. Who in their right mind would call themselves ugly or unappealing?”

Anstead, who is getting his masters degree in Maryland, could not be reached for comment.

Young was surprised to be told by personality profile on a web site that she is “somewhat aggressive.”

“Aggressive wouldn’t be one of the first adjectives I’d pick to describe myself.”

eHarmony boasts a very successful marriage rate – more marriages per match than any other online dating service – however they target an exclusively heterosexual market. eHarmony Public Relations Manager Joe Zink didn’t think being exclusively hetero is what makes them different.

“What separates us from the rest is we were the first to come up with matching,” Zink said.

Zink stressed that eHarmony, based in Pasadena, California, has blossomed, leading to tens of thousands of marriages since the site started in 2000. The site was established by Dr. Neil Clark Warren, who has counseled couples for 35 years.

How many counselors make it their business to tell women like Artina Young that they are aggressive?

And what qualifications do they have? Apparently, the company is too busy with Valentine’s Day to answer these questions, but if you want to know more, there are several payment options you can try. Zink recommends the year-long subscription, for about $250, but IF you ARE looking to save money to find your true match? Then sign up for Friendster or Match.com, where you can post a profile for free.


	Contact us		Copyright©theoysteronline.com