On the Internet, Love Really Is Blind (Published 2001)

The primary difficulty with the process of meeting online, according to some psychologists, is that there is little similarity between a disembodied e-mail consciousness and a real-life encounter. As a result, it is impossible to tell how two people, no matter how much they like each other in a computer context, will get along in the real world.

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Social psychologists have already figured that out. ''What you lose with text is the dynamic of the behavior,'' said Dr. Jon E. Grahe of Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill. Words are largely irrelevant in determining rapport, he said. Nonverbal communication is what counts. ''With nonverbals, there's motion and activity.''