I’m so glad October is over.

I discovered that Halloween and online dating have something in common — many people wear masks. The problem with those masks is that, sooner or later, they have to come off. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to be transparent from the start?

I had a great conversation about this with my matchmaking mentor in Kelowna, Julie from Magnetix Dating Agency. She knows what she is doing. If you are moving to Kelowna or know singles in the Lake City, be sure to tell them about Magnetix.

Don’t get me wrong. I know there are many couples who have met online and who have gone on to have long-lasting relationships. But on line dating is getting tougher.

In the past few years,with so many new apps and options, it has become a bit of a smorgasbord of photos. This new age of modern digital dating is actually kind of ironic because with more choices comes fewer matches. Research shows that too many choices is ruining dating.

What should be making romantic connections easier than ever now seems to be impossibly stressful.

You have probably heard of psychology’s famous Paradox of Choice. The more choices we have, the more difficult choosing can be. The theory was featured in a Barry Schwartz book, where the experiment presented grocery store shoppers with six jam samples on one table and 24 jam samples on another table. Twenty per cent more customers were drawn to the table with 24 choices, but only three per cent of those people actually purchased the jam. Alternatively, the table with just six samples of jam had 30 per cent more shoppers actually purchase the item.

So, while it seems exciting to see so many jams from which to choose,  it reduces the motivation to buy the product.

This is why personalized matchmaking works so well. Based on your criteria that we talk about in person, I will present you with a match. That’s right — one match with whom you can enjoy a meet and greet. Hopefully, that will lead to a second or third date and, at that time, you can determine if there is chemistry as you will have actually gotten to know each other better to see if there’s potential for chemistry.

It’s only through face to face meetings you will know. If it’s not meant to be, then we go back to the drawing board. What I won’t be doing is laying out a catalogue of jams for you to decide from because, while you may think you like raspberry or strawberry, you just wait until I present you with huckleberry.

 If you are single and happy, contact me. Remember, I have a new email that you will find on my website www.holmesiswheretheheartis.ca. Let me know your favourite jam and I will enter you for a gift certificate to Nandi’s Flavours of India.