Does technology ruin our chances at love?

In a world where we can know exactly when a person last logged onto Myspace, facebook, or even into Match, does technology hinder us from finding love? Are we armed with more technology to "stalk" potential crushes then we can handle?

Do we have too many sources to keep tabs on the people we dating? Myspace tells you the last time a person logged on and will even let you know when they last updated their profile. Facebook goes so far as to tell you mini-stories about every one of you friends on your homepage. But does all this freedom really hurt our chances at finding something substantial? We can tell the last person dated through Myspace and probably even see their profile. If the current "crush" still has a ton of comments on their page or pictures, or keeps their ex in their Top Whatever, what is the "crusher" to think? And as women, do we over-analyze the possible outcomes of these comments and placement of friends? Myspace event lets you know when your message has been read, and you can always check their page to find out if they accepted your comment.

I have a friend who blocks her number to call guys that haven't responded to her calls. And if that doesn't work, it's onto her friends to make those awkward calls of "Is Jeremiah there?" when really the kids name is Matt. And all to find out if he's just ignoring her or is too busy for the phone. I myself have fallen in love with the fact that Verizon lets you see when a text message has been received by a person who also has Verizon. But what sense of security can this really give us? It's not like we can call the guys (or girls) out on for not answering the phone. Especially at the beginning of the "relationship". And why can't we just let it go? What makes us so neurotic that if a guy doesn't answer our call that we freak out? Is it because we are given too much information and ability to find things out?

For a small fee, Match will let you see when a person reads the message you send them. Is $10 really worth it to know that he did read the email but that he didn't take the 10 minutes to write you back? And if it says that he's been on in the last x hours, does that mean that he went on there, saw your wink or email, and then decided that you were not in fact worth those 10 precious minutes of typing an email? This conundrum has plagued my co-worker who, I think, would prefer to not know the last time someone was actually on the site. It gives you an easy sense and reason to write them off. Who needs to talk to someone who can't respond to you as soon as they get online? And, in the case of me from time to time, if they email you a few days later, what is proper etiquette for asking why they pulled a Houdini? But in the end, we both agreed that the response to the question of why they disappeared often speaks louder than if they had responded sooner. No response? Writing them off is worth your time now. Witty banter with no good reason? Worth the next email but get to the date sooner rather than later. To the point, I've-been-swamped-at-work? Worth the emails and finding out if your schedules will ever mesh well.

So, are we armed with more technology then we can handle?