I once thought that I met the love of my life on Chatroulette.

Yes, the website that is notorious for being filled with men jerking off (for the record, this boy was fully clothed).

It was definitely not one of my proudest moments, and it got a lot of interesting feedback from my friends, but for some reason I was convinced that this boy was The One.

Obviously things didn’t work out, and I thought to myself, “How stupid was I thinking that I would meet my soulmate on the Internet?”

Now, Internet dating isn’t something new…but it is usually accompanied by the stigma that only desperate, anti-social 40-year-olds engage in it.

You would imagine my surprise when I found out that a bunch of people my age (21) were using the website Plentyoffish.com (POF), and that one of my coworkers claimed to have found the love of his life off that site.

POF is free, based in Vancouver, and boasts that 20,000 users sign up each day. In 2009, the site launched a contest with Lady Gaga, which allowed single members to go together and meet the singer during her “Fame Monster” tour. Gaga even promoted the website in her “Telephone” video with Beyonce by flashing a screenshot as she left the “Prison for Bitches.”

So, after a very bad breakup, and way too many tears, I decided to try it out for myself. I mean, if Gaga approves, it must be okay, right? I figured, if anything, I could always say that my membership was for “research purposes only.”

The hardest part about creating an account was making a profile. How would I sell myself to this website? Which photos would I use? How do I want people to perceive me? The “If your profile is really lame it won’t matter how good your message is” on the “Edit Profile” section just added to the pressure.

Luckily, POF gave me plenty of tips on how to be “successful” and “not waste my time” such as talking about my hobbies, talking about my goals/aspirations, talking about myself and what makes me unique, and my taste in music.

I wrote a brief summary, which apparently wasn’t long enough for the site, so I was forced to write more. I uploaded a picture of Megan Fox for jokes, and surprisingly got several messages immediately from creepy men who wanted to know what my tattoos were of.

So far, this website was exactly what I expected it to be…awful.

I finally put a photo of myself up in the hopes that I wouldn’t find anyone I actually knew personally on the site.

In came more messages; some witty, some cheesy, but most creepy.

I decided I should start messaging the people I found interesting, rather than waiting to see if anyone worthwhile would message me. I quickly found out that you could see which users have “viewed” you and if your messages have been read, unread, or deleted.

In case you were not getting the feedback you wanted, the site is quick to keep your hopes up by telling you, “Hey if you see unread deleted don’t be disappointed, normally 1 in 3 messages get responded to. We find a lot of people read your profile before reading your message.”

I found myself obsessively checking to see if users had read my messages, and whether or not they had been deleted, or how long they would take to message me back. Then I realized how desperate I had become from this stupid website, and finally decided to hide my profile, to prevent anyone else from contacting me.

I did end up meeting some interesting people who I still talk to on a regular basis. Some of them shared some mutual friends with me, while others were complete strangers.

Though it’s less taboo than it used to be, meeting people online is still an iffy topic with some people. I know my oh-so-traditional Chinese father would not approve, even if I were to meet exactly the type of guy he wants me to marry. But what we have to realize is that mostly everything we do is online now: our banking, reading the paper, paying our bills and communicating with others, to name a few.

I’m not condoning online dating, nor condemning it. But if you do choose to try it out, make sure to be smart about it, and stay safe. Do not give out your personal information out right away, and if you plan on meeting up with someone for the first time, make sure it’s in a public place, and that you’re with someone else.

It’s just like how going home with a random stranger you met at a bar is unsafe (even though plenty of people still do it).

Either way, whether online or in real-life, you’ll always have to weed through plenty of d*cks (sometimes literally) before you actually find a keeper.