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The key to answering this question is in determining the parameters of the question itself. What exactly is an "online dater" and what qualifies them as such? I found my husband on a social networking site, but we'd gone to school together previously and began dating "in person" almost immediately after finding one another. Does that make us 'online daters?' To me, that wasn't an online relationship. The internet was simply the tool that brought us together and we took it from there.

On the far opposite site of the spectrum are those relationships that exist solely online and never branch into the realm of reality. No phone calls, no face-to-face interaction, no 'real' dates. It is those couples, on opposite sides of the state, the country, or the world, that fall into the "online dater" category in my opinion. You may have hundreds of IM or email conversations with one another, but without a hint of the real world thrown in, it's no different than a 'relationship' in a game like Second Life or The Sims online. For all you know, you could be in love with someone who is 20 years older (or younger) than they claim to be, a different sex than they claim to be, in a different location, with a different marital status and you'd never know the difference. This isn't to say that online relationships can't be genuine or that they can't consist of two people who are exactly who they claim to be - I only use the examples above to illustrate that a key part of being in a real relationship and being half of a real couple is having a knowledge and understanding of the person that you are in that relationship with. Without verbal and face-to-face interaction, I don't believe that to be possible.

Somewhere in the middle are those couples that start online, talk on the phone, and 'intend' to meet one day. I find it hard to grant those relationships the same significance as relationships that involve at least SOME face-to-face contact for the very same reasons that I listed above - there is something about spending time in person that solidifies a relationship a dating status. Without that, the basis for 'couple-hood' lies over phone lines and in cyberspace. For those that will respond that this scenario is the same as long distance relationships, I have to disagree. Long distance relationships generally start out in person - or at least have in-person time that allows the relationship interest to evolve. Being separated from a loved one after spending time with them is one thing - never having met them and corresponding strictly by email or phone is another.

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