CanDoBetter.com

Tools

by Morgan Fogarty
Bio | Email | Follow: @MorganFogarty

"Can she do better than him? Can he do better than her?" With the click of a mouse, you can tell users of a new website exactly that. You can even tell them if you think they're a "perfect match.” People upload pics of themselves and pictures of the people they want to date, are dating, heck, people they're even married to, all because they want your opinion on their partner.

The site instantly tabulates the clicks and generates a percentage of people who think you or your partner could do better. Ouch. Local relationship expert Dr. Dar says it all leads to one thing: "You wanna invite Jerry Springer-like drama into your life, that's a sure way to do it."

17-year-old Jacki Day has heard "you can do better" before. She values that opinion from her friends and family, but strangers online judging only a picture? "You don't know anything about who they are as a person. It's just not something you should base on a person,” she says.

Myers Park resident Caroline Skeates says, "I wouldn't really care what they think because they don't know me or the other person.” And Nicolas Delgadillo says, "I guess overall, it's more important how you feel about them than what anyone else does, even if they are your friends."

The site creator says "We understand singles are searching for quality, not quantity and CanDoBetter.com increases the odds of finding a suitable dating partner." But Dr. Dar warns that users expecting to find "true love" on a relationship site should think again. "Single sites and match making sites and dating sites, they are not here to create sustainable, happy relationships. Their business is to find singles for singles and keep them single so they keep that business model going,” she says.

By the way, CanDoBetter.com does more than let you judge other people's partners. You can also connect to them, too, if you think you're their perfect match.

Experts have one more concern about the impact of the site: it focuses solely on a person's appearance to determine so-called "compatibility.” They say that pressure, especially amongst high school age users, could lead to Internet bullying or teen depression.
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