eDatingSmart.com -

WASHINGTON — My friends have been saying the same thing for a while: “Just do one of those online dating thingies like OkCupid or Match.com.”

I didn’t pay that much attention, since these words were usually uttered by a long-married person wearing sweats and 10-year-old sneakers while reclining on his or her sofa and using a toothpick to extract broccoli left over from lunch from his/her teeth.

“Easy for you to say,” I’d think, listening to him/her exchange shouts with a spouse in the other room in between discussing my love life.

But lately I’ve also heard lots of good buzz from my single friends. Two women I know found the men of their dreams through online dating services. Several single friends recommended trying it.

And when I conducted a scientific survey of my Facebook friends, I heard more encouraging stories — and I also drummed up some controversy.

The controversy swirled around age and the disclosure thereof.

One of my female friends — let’s call her MarriedWoman1 — said she’s had this conversation with some of her friends who are on dating sites.

“From what I gather, men in their 40s and 50s aren’t interested in dating women their own age,” she said. “They want to date 25-year-olds. So honesty is of course always best, but it probably won’t get you a date either! (Not you personally, Trish, just any woman old…………… continues on San Angelo Standard Times