When 97.3 KIRO FM’s John Curley first heard the story of
love-gone-bad on a relationship call-in show, he figured
it was like most others. The heartbroken women sadly told
of her eight month relationship coming to an end. There
was just one small detail that floored the host and
Curley: The couple had never actually met.

“We just realized we’re going different directions and
after eight months we just, it just isn’t working out,”
she
said.

It’s a growing trend that leaves Curley feeling less than
love struck.

“This woman described it as dating. Dating? That’s not
dating,” Curley lamented.

Despite his less than favorable outlook on finding online
love, it seems to be a growing trend. A couple that met
playing Halo online has become an Internet sensation after
posting a video of their first physical meeting following
five years of online dating.

The woman who goes by “cadynow” on the YouTube video
wrote “Once we talked ‘face to face,’ we hit it off as a
couple from then on. Now we finally got to meet in person
for the first time after dating for two years. We’re
currently engaged as well.”

A recent study
found
online dating is the second most common way for people to
meet, but Curley questions the quality of the
relationships it’s cultivating and our increasing
inability to even talk to each other.

“More people text than talk on the phone nowadays. You
don’t even want your phone to ring. People don’t even
leave voicemails any more.”

When it comes to the breakup like the one he heard on
Delilah after eight months of never actually meeting,
Curley
points out there’s another unique challenge.

“What special song would you play for somebody who has
been ‘dating online?!’ Does that include all capital
letters?”