I did it because I wanted to have fun, flirt and meet men outside my social group. I felt some trepidation about putting myself out there. Especially for someone who barely has an online presence. But 15 million people in the UK are registered for online and one in five relationships now start online. There are an overwhelming 1,400 sites, though, so where to start? Can find me a match? I go for the least level of exposure, with a black and white pic of me wearing sunglasses. The site asks questions about my looks, level of education, lifestyle and beliefs, and then the difficult bit: my ideal match. I say I am looking for a slim, six-foot Caucasian man, easygoing, energetic, enthusiastic, generous, confident and funny. I realise I am describing my husband. Maybe I should be more experimental. I describe myself as slim, blonde, widowed, easygoing and ready for a new relationship all true and give myself the name Life Enhancer. Before you can contact the men they suggest, you must subscribe. The men I find First up is Nottinghillbilly, pictured with messy hair, a beard and in a leather jacket. But he wants me to email him direct, which is not encouraged by the site and makes me suspicious. I then peruse Oddball, Goopile and Naked Plumber. A guy called Wayne winks, but on his profile I discover he is recovering from having his brain tinkered with on the NHS, and much as he sounds lovely, I need someone straightforward at this stage in my life. LondonArty looks younger than some so I try him. He responds by asking me to come up and see his Samurai Swords. But I agree to meet Unicorn, a 66-year-old retired construction engineer, for a coffee in the West End, where we both work. Pros There is a lot of choice of men and every day I get winks and emails, which makes me feel popular. How it works Being a Guardian reader, I assume this will be dominated by intelligent, solvent and liberal Guardian readers. I upload the same photo and answer the same questions and details as I did on Match. It is the Guardian after all. A feature called Your Matches creates a list of compatible, potential dates. Subscription, to connect with dates, costs £32 for a month, £64 for three months or £96 for six months. The men I find On day one, I get six matches who are all in their fifties, rated an overall 75 per cent match with me. That means we have interests in common and fit into the right age bracket. Only Corona emails, saying he is solvent, a widower, and likes Daft Punk and Bowie. Not bad, I think. Pros The site is easy to negotiate and the men are more forthcoming in their descriptions of themselves. As suitable traffic has not been forthcoming on the other sites, and now feeling more confident, I upload a different photo, this time wearing a hat. The men I find I have lots of banter and flirting with men, then a long interaction with Peter from Royston. He implies he has enough money not to work but is bored being single and would like a companion to share his holidays and life with. We have similar taste in music and talk about the joys of travelling around the States. Pros The men are confident, strike up conversations more quickly, and ask more interesting questions than on the other sites. I feel more comfortable on this website than any of the others. Cons Everybody is over 50! You sign on via Facebook so Tinder receives your public profile, friend list, email address, relationship interest, birthday, status updates and everything else. I find this disconcerting and rather too revealing, but soon get over it. And unless you are matched i. The men I find My first message is from someone I recognise and share Facebook friends with. He works close by and we arrange to meet. Pros Fast, fun and amusing. Cons Time wasting and addictive. But there are too many choices and all in their twenties and thirties. Niche sites out there include for rural , , where the children of single parents in their 50s recommend their parents for dates, and the well-known , where a close friend writes your profile and introduces you to potential dates. For a laugh I had a look at. Several men are seeking women anywhere between 25 and 79.
