When Facebook was introduced in early 2004, it was nothing more than a means for students at Harvard College to communicate online. In less than six years, the site has become one of the biggest social networking sites with over 64 million users.
And while most people sign up for Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family who live in different parts of the country or even overseas, they quickly realise the site has a number of exciting benefits.
One of the most popular uses of Facebook these days is as a dating site. Does Facebook actually encourage dating between members? The answer is yes and no. While the site definitely does not promote itself as a dating website, they do ask members to indicate their marital status. This means that when someone examines your facebook dating page they can see if you are married, single, or single and looking.
This last designation lets other members know in a not so subtle way that you would like to hear from interested singles. And since Facebook encourages pictures, unlike most dating sites, it is far more likely that someone who contacts you through Facebook will be interested in you, rather than simply browsing.
It has been estimated that nearly five million single people in the UK have a Facebook account. If this is true, then Facebook provides members with by far the biggest dating catalogue on the planet. And since most Facebook members know how to navigate the site, contacting another member and asking them to chat is a cinch.
