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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm SteveEmber.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. February fourteenth is Valentine's Day. Sothis is a good time to play some love songs as we explore thesubject of dating.

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VOICE ONE:

Valentine's Day is a special timefor love. Millions of people will receive flowers, chocolate or someother gift. Others might get just a phone call or an electronicmessage from someone they care about.

Still others would be happy just to have someone special in theirlife on Valentine's Day.

Tradition tells us that Saint Valentine was a third-century Romanwho performed marriages and died for his Christian beliefs onFebruary fourteenth. That was a day celebrated in ancient Rome inconnection with love.

VOICE TWO:

Traditionally, young people inAmerica lived with their parents until marriage. Some still do. But,in general, young people have grown more independent. They waitlonger to get married.

Even then, they still have to find the right person.

There are many ways for people to meet. Some meet at work. Othersmeet by chance. Still others look for help from services that bringpeople together.

VOICE ONE:

Friends and family members might offer to help. They might plan ablind date. This is a meeting between two people who have never seeneach other before. And, unless things go well, may never seen eachother again.

Some families follow their cultural traditions and plan themarriage of their child to a member of another family. The youngpeople might not see each other much before they are married. Orthey might see each other but never alone.

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VOICE TWO:

In movies, two people often fall in love after what Hollywoodcalls a "cute meet." They might be lawyers on opposite sides in acourt case. Or one person gets a letter meant for the other. Ortheir dogs get into a fight on the street. Who knows how many peoplereally do meet this way.

In real life, finding a person and establishing a relationship isusually hard work.

VOICE ONE:

A lot of people try to improve their chances by looking in placeswhere people with similar interests go. This might be a place ofreligion. Or a bookstore. Many bookstores in America offer specialprograms and social activities for single people.

Singles may join health clubs or sports teams where men and womenplay together. If nothing else, at least they get some exercise.

But sometimes none of these efforts succeed. So people might tryto meet someone over the Internet. Here too there are no guarantees.

VOICE TWO:

Internet dating services had been growing sharply through the endof two thousand three. But the industry growth rate has slowed.

What we are about to say may come as no shock, but people do notalways tell the truth about themselves online. And if they do notexactly lie about their age, for example, then they might offer anold picture instead. Or a dating service might connect a person withsomeone who lives far away.

Some companies are working to improve their services. And otherssay they have a very good record of bringing people together.

VOICE ONE:

There are companies with nameslike Match dot com (match.com) and eHarmony dot com (eharmony.com)and Americansingles dot com (americansingles.com).

And there are services especially for different groups, includingolder people. Senior FriendFinder dot com (seniorfriendfinder.com)says that in one week, it placed more than two thousand pictures ofolder date-seekers online.

VOICE TWO:

People who meet through computer services may not have to givetheir full name or e-mail address at first. Relationships that beginover the Internet do sometimes lead to marriage. Yet there is a riskanytime strangers meet. It could be danger, or simply an unpleasantsurprise.

A young woman in Washington, D.C., was angry after seeing a dateshe met over the Internet. In his picture, he looked twenty-five orthirty years old. In reality, she said, he was old enough to be herfather.

VOICE ONE:

Another example involves a woman in Chicago, Illinois. Forseveral months, she exchanged e-mail with a man who soundedinteresting. Then, when they met, he admitted he had a wife. He saidhe just wanted what he called "some harmless fun." The woman saysshe told him she was sorry she had wasted her time on a person wholies.

Online dating companies do offer some safety advice to women andmen who decide to meet. For example, they say you should driveyourself to the date. And get together in a public place with lotsof people around.

VOICE TWO:

Another way to meet people is through a service like the oneoffered by a company called Brief Encounters USA. This company holdsevents for small groups of people in several states and Washington,D.C. Men and women meet and get only three to six minutes tointroduce themselves.

VOICE ONE:

This is how it works: Two people sit across from each other at atable. They talk until a bell rings. Then everyone meets a newperson.

People write down their reactions to the ones they met. At theend, they give the names of those they liked best to an employee ofBrief Encounters. Within forty-eight hours, the people who took partreceive the names and telephone numbers of the people who likedthem.

Religious organizations operate a number of dating services. Aprogram called SpeedDating began in California with Jewish studentsin Los Angeles. Many young people gather in a room. They meet andtalk with someone else for seven minutes before they move on toanother person.

VOICE TWO:

Many American newspapers and magazines publish what are calledpersonals. These are messages from people who want to meet others.For example, a message might say: "Nice looking woman, thirty yearsold, thin, athletic, successful, great cook, desires long-termrelationship."

There are also telephone services. People call and record amessage about themselves and the kind of person they hope to meet.Other people call and listen to the messages. If they hear one theylike, they leave their own message.

There are also video dating services. People go on camera andrecord a message about themselves. Then they wait until someonelikes what they see.

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VOICE ONE:

In some cafes, people hope to find more than just a good cup ofcoffee. A place called Drip opened in New York City in nineteenninety-six. It began with the idea of having employees help set updates between people who answer questions about themselves. The ideaspread. Drip dot com (drip.com) offers an online dating service.

VOICE TWO:

However two people meet, once they have made a date, either aloneor with friends, the question becomes where to go. People of allages do many of the same things. They might go out to eat. Theymight go for a long walk. Or they might go dancing, or to a movie ora museum or a concert.

Some couples play sports together. Others like to spend anevening just watching television. However they spend their time, theimportant thing -- Valentine's Day or not -- is that they arespending it together.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by CatyWeaver. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for THIS ISAMERICA in VOA Special English.