ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Timeline of online dating services

Alright kiddo, so you know how people like to meet other people and maybe go on dates and stuff like that? Well, back in the olden days before the internet, people had to meet each other in person or through friends. But then, along came the internet and people realized they could meet other people online too!

The first online dating service was called Match.com and it started way back in 1995. That's even before you were born! It was pretty basic back then, people just made a profile with a picture and some information about themselves, and then they could search for other people's profiles to see if they wanted to talk to them.

After that, more and more online dating services started popping up. Some were for specific groups of people, like eHarmony, which was designed to help people find long-term relationships based on their personalities. Others were more casual, like Tinder, which lets you swipe through pictures of people nearby and decide if you want to talk to them.

Over time, online dating has become more and more popular, with millions of people using it every day all over the world. And as people's needs and preferences have changed, online dating services have evolved too. Now there are even apps that use fancy algorithms to help match you with people who are most likely to be a good match for you!

So there you have it kiddo, a brief history of online dating services. It all started with Match.com way back in 1995 and now there are tons of different services to choose from!