I like to ski, do things according to plan, and seek adventure. The only factoid missing in my eHarmony.com questionnaire is that I am a reality TV junkie. Can I add that in somewhere? I have now finished the 45-minute, 436-question eHarmony.com personality questionnaire. Username: Jayhawker09.

The number of online dating websites is countless, making this trend a more accepted way of finding a match. On both eHarmony.com and Match.com, about 500 users are connected to the 66044 Lawrence zip code.

eHarmony.com is among the growing number of dating sites that use questionnaires to determine compatibility between people on the site. This type of matchmaking is considered scientific now: Last year, eHarmony.com played a part for 236 marriages a day in the United States, according to Harris Interactive, a marketing research firm.

Dating websites serve as a tool to find a potential girlfriend or boyfriend at the click of a mouse. Ryan Harp, Topeka senior, joined Match.com this past December after he broke up with his girlfriend.

Match.com works like eHarmony.com. The site asks users to make a profile listing likes and dislikes, and what they’re looking for in a mate. It sends compatibility matches through e-mail daily, weekly or monthly.

Harp says it was an easy way to meet other people without having to get too serious right away.

“It’s kind of like Facebook,” Harp says. “It’s easy and you don’t have to pay anything unless you want to see who is looking at your profile.”

Harp searches for women up to 30 miles away, and adds to his profile that he likes watching and playing sports, hanging out with friends, and listening to music. Since December, Harp has had a few “matches,” but still remains single.

The more information you can give a potential mate, the better off you will be, says couples therapist Julie Hardesty Sullivan of Fairway.

“Online dating gives you the opportunity to get to know the person on a deeper level through e-mails and phone calls first,” Sullivan says. “It helps slow the relationship down and take some of the sexual tension off.”

After getting rejected from eHarmony.com, Mel Browar, 25, Overland Park salon owner, subscribed to Yahoo! Personals and Match.com. Users can be rejected for reasons such as providing inconsistent answers to the questions. At the time, Browar worked at a bar. To avoid the bar scene, she turned to online dating. For a three-month, $60 Match.com membership, Browar found her boyfriend, Andy.

Match.com uses a “winking” system as a way for people to show interest in the other person.

“Once the person ‘winks’ you, either deleting them or winking back is the next step,” Browar says. “I winked back, and we started talking.”

The next night, January 6, 2008, Andy and Browar met at Browar’s bar and they have been together ever since.

“I used to be hesitant to say I met my boyfriend on an online dating website, but it’s a good story to tell,” Browar says. “If we get married, I hope I can be on a Match.com commercial.”

There may be some disadvantages to online dating, but social psychology professor Chris Crandall has seen many online dating relationships lead to successful marriages. The Internet provides a convenience that regular dating may not have.

“It is only a start though,” he says. “Stable romantic relationships must also

be face-to-face, or they remain ethereal.”

Crandall says it can be a quick and reasonable way to start.

“As long as you proceed to the well-established steps in a relationship of appearing in public, presenting the other person to friends, family and as long as you have plenty of face-to-face time in the end … ” Crandall says. “Why not?”