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VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. Our show this week is about the searchfor love. Join us as we explore dating in America!

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Valentine's Day

VOICE ONE:

Another February fourteenth, Valentine's Day, has come and gone.Millions of people received flowers and chocolate, or some othergift, or even just a telephone call from someone they care about.Valentine's Day is a special time for love.

People who follow old traditions have a second chance at the endof this month. A tradition says February twenty-ninth, Leap YearDay, is the one day a woman may ask a man to marry her.

But a lot of people are not even close to that point. They wouldbe happy just to find someone to date.

VOICE TWO:

In the past, young people in America usually lived with theirparents until they got married. Some still do. But, in general,young people have grown more independent. They wait longer to getmarried. 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 seek help from businesses that try tobring people together.

VOICE ONE:

Friends and family members might offer to help. Often a friendwill plan a "blind date." This is meeting between two people whohave never seen each other before. The friend thinks the two peoplewill like each other. They might. Or they might never want to seeeach other again.

Usually, though, single people have to make their own plans. Somemight go to a dance place, for example, and hope to meet someonethey can ask out on a date. Some places are popular with youngpeople. Others are for older people. But this kind of life is notfor everyone.

VOICE TWO:

Dating and establishing a relationship can be hard work. So a lotof people want to go where they are sure they can meet people withsimilar interests. They might look for someone who shares a commoninterest in religion or books, for example. A lot of bookstores inAmerica now have places that serve coffee and food. Many offerspecial programs and social activities for single people.

Singles may join health clubs, or sports teams -- or maybe even agroup for people who like to take long walks in the woods. Ifnothing else, at least they will have gotten some exercise.

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VOICE ONE:

Some Americans use dating services, which help people choose aperson they might like. For example, a company called GreatExpectations has been helping to bring people together for almostthirty years. Great Expectations started in San Francisco,California. The company organizes events in more than fifty placesin the United States for people to meet.

Another company is called Brief Encounters. It serves people inseveral states and Washington, D.C. The name describes what thecompany does. Brief Encounters organizes events that provide veryquick introductions for small groups of people. Men and women meetand get only three to six minutes to introduce themselves.

VOICE TWO:

Two people sit across from each other at a table. They talk untila bell rings. Then everyone meets a new person. People write theirreactions on paper. They write the names of the people they likedbest. Then they give these notes to an employee of Brief Encounters.Within forty-eight hours, the people who took part receive the namesand telephone numbers of the people who liked them.

A program called SpeedDating also provides fast introductions forsingles. Many young people are in a room. Two people meet and talkfor seven minutes. Then they meet and talk to others. TheSpeedDating program began in Los Angeles, California, at a Jewisheducational center. It is one of a number of dating servicesoperated by religious organizations.

VOICE ONE:

But some people do not like making hurried choices. A young womanin Chicago, Illinois, says nobody can make an intelligent choiceunder those conditions. But others praise this method. They say itis a way to avoid long hours with someone who is not veryinteresting.

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VOICE TWO:

Many American newspapers and magazines publish messages frompeople who are seeking someone to date. The messages are called"personal want ads" or "personals." This is the usual kind ofmessage in a personal ad: "Nice looking woman, thirty years old,thin, athletic, successful, great cook, desires long-termrelationship."

VOICE ONE:

Men who want to meet this woman write to the newspaper ormagazine. They describe themselves and their interests. The womanthen reads the letters and decides if she wants to meet any of them.

There are also telephone services. A person calls and records amessage. For example, a man describes himself and the kind of womanhe hopes to meet. He describes what kind of relationship he wouldlike.

Other people call and listen to the messages. If they hear onethey like, they leave their own message. Once two people talk toeach other directly, they might or might not decide to meet inperson.

Telephone dating services have led to video dating services.People go on camera and record a message about themselves. Then theywait until someone likes what they see.

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Graphic Image

VOICE TWO:

Some cities in America have restaurants where people hope to findmore than just good food. A place called Drip opened in New YorkCity in nineteen-ninety-six. It started with the idea to have peoplewrite down answers to a series of questions about themselves. Otherpeople then read the answers. If someone likes what they read, anemployee sets up a date.

Now there is a Web site, Drip.com. People are directed to aDateCafe where an employee tries to set them up on a date.

VOICE ONE:

This is just one of the dating services on the Internet. Abusiness called Match.com is a leader in the area of onlinematchmaking. Members can get lists of people around their age wholive nearby. Some people identify themselves and even includepictures. Others do not. The goal is for people to get to know eachother through electronic mail. Then, they can decide to meet anddate.

Match.com began in nineteen-ninety-five. It says many of itsmembers have married or formed close relationships. One example is ateacher in the Washington, D.C., area whose marriage ended a fewyears ago. She had not dated much until she met a computer expertthrough Match-dot-com.

VOICE TWO:

A lot of people search for love online. People usually start bycommunicating with strangers. Sometimes the strangers becomefriends. They might decide to meet. Then they might decide to date.They may even decide to get married.

But there are risks anytime strangers meet. There have beenstories in the news about people killed by others they met over theInternet. That is not the only risk. People may lie about themselvesor leave out details. Some people find that the person they met overthe Internet is already married.

VOICE ONE:

However they meet, when single people finally get together, whatdo they do on a date? People of all ages do many of the same things.They go out to eat. Or they go dancing. They go for walks. Or theygo to movies, museums or concerts. Couples might play sportstogether. Or they might just spend the evening watching television.

VOICE TWO:

Dating is the traditional first step toward marriage. But manyyoung Americans no longer feel in as much of a hurry to get marriedas in the past. They want to finish their education and establishthemselves in a profession first.

Other people are ready to settle down and start a family. Theywant to meet someone and fall in love. There are more ways to meetother people today. Yet some say it is harder than ever to find theright person. So they keep dating, and hoping.

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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 Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.

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