Love at First Click
By Aaron Shulman
February/March 2006
“Are you my soul mate?” The answer was a resounding yes for Rita and Manny Lopez, who met online at ages 52 and 62, respectively. Six months later, they were married.
“He is the man of my life, and I am the woman for whom he had been waiting,” says Rita. “I recommend everyone follow my lead.”
Many are doing just that. A study conducted exclusively for AARP Segunda Juventud found that 10 percent of single Hispanics ages 40 to 69 look for romance online.
Dating websites often offer free basic membership and are easy to navigate. “You look at people’s profiles and see who interests you,” explains Perla Lazo, 50, who first logged on several months ago.
While Internet dating opens a whole new playing field, it also creates new dangers. “There’s always the possibility that someone could be deceiving you by how they describe themselves physically and in other ways,” says Lazo. It’s wise to keep your guard up, but if you’re careful, Internet romance can be no trickier than the old-fashioned, non-computerized kind. In fact, it offers many advantages.
“You can control the relationship so that the pace works for you,” Lazo says. “There’s less pressure.” And you can narrow the pool before springing for coffee.
So if you’re looking for love, why wait? Your soul mate may be just a click away.
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