I, for one, think dating is complex enough without this whole internet and social networking thrown in. I bring this up because well recently it’s been more applicable. But you know there are just so many different ways to communicate these days that it’s just ridiculous.

So I’ve had exes and friends of exes and past hookups and well all sorts of people find me on Facebook and Myspace and all these weird social networking websites. I have to say I have a few funny stories of people I didn’t really want finding me on the internet. But this post is more about the people you think maybe you do want to hear from.

As if it isn’t stressful enough to wonder what your possible new interest is up to or figuring out when you should call them or how to work up the nerve to even call them. You can now find them on Facebook and Myspace and what have you and then go through the entire wondering of, can they see me? What are my privacy settings? Should I change them? Do I actually want to “friend” this person? And then there is email and text messaging. I mean what ever happened to just regular phone calls? And then the anxiety and waiting for the person to call you back or the date itself. Sometimes I wonder if being so in touch with everything around us doesn’t take some of the mystery out of dating. Not to mention how it gives you a lot of information that may not be accurate, helpful or even interesting but can be misleading, awkward and strange.

I think the most memorable thing that’s happened to me was meeting my own personal internet stalker at the laundromat. New rule #1 for me. Do not give out your personal email address to those you do not know. It is not safe. Just like your number. Don’t give that out either. Unless you are really truly interested. So true story: I meet this guy doing laundry one Sunday, I am peacefully reading the Devil Wears Prada while listening to my iPod and praying for my laundry to dry faster. So this guy starts asking me about fashion and whether I’m really interested in it or not (because of the title of the book) and I am sortof humoring him because I’m from the South and it’s not polite to just not talk to people. Eventually he asks me for my email address and I figure, OK fine how much harm can that do, he’ll probably never email me anyway. Boy was I wrong. First there is now gchat so even with your email address people can check your “status” and then apparently he found my blog from 2004, which I think I may have updated once since then. Clearly, I’ve forgotten about it. And he even found my Pandora radio station. It was incredible and quite stalkerish. Thankfully, I don’t think he’s a real stalker (obviously, I wouldn’t be posting this if I did).

But I mean who would imagine that there is so much out there that can complicate relationships these days. It’s like dating is a mine-field with every single point of communication at your fingertips. Personally, I’m a fan of the phone. Granted, I do think the phone can be terrifying because it is oh so personal compared to texting, email, Facebook/Myspace messages etc. But in the long run I also think if you are truly interested in a person, what else have you to lose?