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If there were reservations regarding how online dating is changing social interactions, the example of Angelo Spresico (a mechanic from Polokwane) and Christellé van der Merwe epitomises the evolution of the medium.
The two met through online dating service lovemail.co.za and are set to tie the knot later this year.
Though Pretoria-based engineer and dedicated web-surfer Keith Ramphamana is yet to find his mate at 29, he swears by the service.
But Angelo and Christellé are just one of the many successful love stories that the online dating faithful are proud of.
In mature markets online dating is booming like never before. In the United States it's grown into a US$500m (R3,5bn) industry.
Yet few South Africans are prepared to take Angelo and Christellé's leap of faith to find love. Despite the proliferation of matchmaking websites, uptake in SA has been low.
SA internet dating scarce
A survey released last month by international research group Synovate reported that just 12% of South African users had tried to find love on the internet.
Synovate wanted to ascertain how web-surfers in SA, Brazil, France, Singapore and the US felt about online romance. The French topped the list, followed by the Americans.
Of South African respondents, 68% said they'd never consider it, 48% said they'd rather meet their partner in person and 21% believed internet romance was actually dangerous.
Though he's noted an increase in the number of SA consumers using online matchmaking websites, Junk Mail MD Felix Erken attributes the stuttering uptake in SA to a number of factors. Junk Mail owns LoveMail.
Says Erken: "South Africa's history has a lot to do with the negative perceptions that consumers attach to online dating. But more than that, SA's low internet penetration - said to be sitting at 7,5% compared to, say, the US's at 78% - has had a negative effect on uptake.
"Not only is it a new concept in the SA market but SA's socially conservative background is also holding it back."
Desperate?
Spresico shares Erken's view, saying some of his friends labelled him a desperate individual simply because he'd been prowling the net for a partner.
Says Spresico: "If anything, I wasn't looking for a wife but a social network partner. But once I'd found Christellé, one thing led to the other."
He says some of his friends' attitudes still typify the perceptions that SA consumers have of online dating.
Now that SA has formally been integrated into the global community, consumers in SA were fast catching on to international social trends. And online dating is gaining considerable social acceptance with new sites following LoveMail - such as Match.co.za and DatingBuzz.co.za.
In 2004, SA's online dating industry was valued at R24m, and conservative estimates currently value it at close to R40m. The number of users has increased by 311% from 56000 in 2004 to 230000 now.
'Innovation is key'
Though Erken won't discuss its revenue aspects, he claims LoveMail has in excess of 100000 users, by far SA's industry leader.
Says Erken: "The trends - involving technological advancement along with genuine creativity - have contributed to the increasing number of online dating sites. Innovation is key to attracting the young and trendy users."
So that Erken could cater for that particular market, he recently extended the service from print and online to cellphones.
"The response has been overwhelming. LoveMail's mobile service just makes online dating available for anyone with a cellphone. Much like the offline dating world's phone call, instant messaging (IM) capabilities transform static data on a page into actual online, real-time conversations."
Future improvements to the current services being mooted by local online dating service providers include improved search methods, instant messaging capabilities and the use of audio and video.
Erken says the introduction of more bandwidth to support such added features will bump online communication up a notch into the two-dimensional world.
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