Virtual Slut? I think not!

So I'm driving along, on my way to lunch, and I hear an interesting statement on the radio - a new University of Texas survey suggests that 30 percent of women screw their online finds on the first date and 70 percent of said women do it without protection.

As a former serial online dater, this does no surprise me. Does this study suggest that the women of the online dating scene are easy whores? No.

In my experience, an online-date begins (or ends) in one of three ways: 1) girl meets guy, guy looks nothing like his picture; 2) girl meets guy, guy eventually divulges a new alarming factoid that he "thought he mentioned before;" 3) girl meets guy, guy is as described online. In other words, at best, 33 percent of online dates aren't a total catastrophe.

I believe I see a correlation brewing ...

After experiencing a 66 percent failure rate, I began to expect the worst when venturing out to meet new online guys. More times than not, I could count on them being fatter or shorter than their pictures; hell, it got to the point I could count on them being married and out looking for some strange. When I was lucky enough to meet a guy that was exactly as described, subconsciously, I felt safe.

By the time I met Mr. Truthful, I had probably spent hours exchanging witty emails, answering and asking questions, swapping pictures, talking on the phone, forming a connection that would lead to a face-to-face meeting. Assuming the conversation flowed and a real-life physical attraction surfaced, this connection was further strengthened. Alas! A diamond in the rough! How could this not get my juices flowing?

So why does this not occur in other social settings with the same frequency?

Take bars for example, a common place to meet others ... subconsciously, we walk in with our set criteria. We scan the room, spot the well-dressed hotties and hope we grow the balls to approach one, or all, of them. But, wait, where is the computer monitor? Where is our hiding place? You mean the bathroom, that contains the same sex, is the only place in which we can find refuge?

Enters: Alcohol. Now we are, literally, talking and balls, everywhere, are sprouting.

But even amidst the witty martini-induced banter and sad, sad rail liquor-inspired pick-up lines, in bars we are stripped to mere physical attributes. Women don't want to be seen as objects and if approached under said circumstances, we assume men are only seeking us for what we display on our exterior as opposed to the paragraph or two of well-crafted information we placed on our online profile. Surely there is a difference!

I think its safe to say that if bars required all patrons to wear a shirt listing their age, marital status and income, Match.com would have failed miserably long ago.

Women like information and with regards to men, we hate the unknown. Online dating provides a safety net; we are able to pick and choose from thousands of men that would otherwise not approach us in public while knowing whether or not they have kids, a job, a social life, a personality ...

But who fares better in this virtual world?

Men.

Online dating is fabulous for men because they are able to establish that all too important sex-inspiring "connection" without a) putting their ego on the line and b) spending very much money.

Even though I am aware that by social standards I should abstain, have I slept with a Mr. Truthful on the first date? Sure. I'll admit it; I'm not ashamed. I do believe it is possible to get to know someone without meeting them first. Does this make me a cheap slut? I don't think so.

Technology has been designed to accelerate progress. As you are reading my column on a computer, someone else is on Match.com cutting to the proverbial chase. Today's technology allows us to skip the first few dates that, in the past, were designed for discovery. We are now able to meet people, with a virtual bio in hand, enabling us to focus on our biological desire for physical chemistry and I'm sorry guy, but, this includes women.

As we leap further into a world of micro-chips and processors, the labeling of women that sleep with their online finds upon a first physical encounter will become obsolete. I encourage the 30 percent of women currently partaking in the online world of men to MARCH ON. It's these very women that will eventually dispel the infamous "double-standard" that prevents women from being women: carnal beings plagued by out-dated social standards.

Technology is allowing men to meet women without laying out the cash, so now its time for women to partake without feeling like trash.

As for the women that aren't using protection, technology is not advancing fast enough to save you from a perilous disease. Don't be confused. Be smart.

Sydney Savage is an International Conference Coordinator by day and gregarious Washingtonian by night. Feel free to criticize her opinions by emailing her at sydneysavage@hobotrashcan.com.