Meeting the love of your life can be just a click, swipe, or double tap away. Many college students and even high school students find themselves addicted to online dating sites and apps. Programs like Tinder, Match, eHarmony, Zoosk, and Parship target young singles searching for love in an era of technology. These sites connect people according to their astrological sign, online psychometric testing, lifestyle compatibility quizzes, or even through their religious practices. On paper, these methods seem to find match people with their perfect pair, but how often do these approaches lead to long lasting, healthy relationships?

According to reports from eHarmony, there are over 40 million Americans currently using online dating websites and 27 percent of these users are young adults. Among teens and young adults, dating sites have become so popular because they are accessible, quick, and completely avoid the worst part of relationships: rejection. The lack of human interaction allows for painless breakups and makeups that would have formerly scared away perspective partners.

Despite the benefits of limited real life first impressions for some, the lack of true human interaction can actually be unhealthy for a new relationship. eHarmony has reported that over 53 percent of users lie on their dating profiles or get help from a friend to create their profile. Initial deceit can lead to long term trust issues that could negatively affect the future of an online relationship. Regardless of the fact that online dating statistics show that 20 percent of those in current, committed relationships began online, only 7 percent of marriages in 2015 were between couples that met on a dating website. This shows that even though dating websites spark many connections, they do not spark long lasting relationships leading to marriages.

While online dating is extremely popular, if you are looking for your true love, the computer screen does not have the best reputation for connecting soulmates. Online dating has low statistics of creating relationships resulting in marriage, and high statistics of potential catfishing users. At the end of the day, it is very important to protect yourself when trusting the internet with your heart.