I have a lot of respect for what they're trying to do at EHarmony, but apparently my personality profile only matches me with true creepers. Sometimes I feel like the site is linking a suitable victim, me, with potential serial killers, like Jeremy.
Like everyone I meet online, Jeremy seemed normal at first. He had a sense of humor that didn't involve the words ‘penis' or ‘fart', which in the world of online dating is a true achievement. He was doing really great things with his life, and I respected his profession. We moved through the EHarmony communication hoops quickly and he asked if we could start IMing.
The first thing I notice when he IMed me was his icon was, well, a picture of himself. I think this is a growing trend, to give yourself iconic status with a small half-inch-by-half-inch wink in the window of the message. I think this because they don't want women to forget who they are. His picture is bordering on ostentatious but I figure it could be a joke, right? The black argile sweater with white collared shirt underneath, the shrink glasses, the thoughtful turned-to-the-side-slightly-hand-under-chin pose.
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2009.
