Strategic marketers of products and services are smart; they have infiltrated the world of social media as a major platform, and, in doing so, they have targeted me lounging in the very wide demographic of single women. I say “lounging” because I have not proactively sought a significant other since my divorce nine years ago. What the marketers have not mastered is the fact that this very wide demographic has subsets, most of which do not apply to me.

Every morning, I peruse my email and go through a series of deletions. Match.com has not given up; nor has eHarmony. (O.K. . . . one of those two dating services might have found my name in their list of eligible personal profiles once – more on that later.) The list also includes Zoosk; The Dating Service for Elders (Are elders some sort of tribal leaders, because I’m only 44?); The Dating Service for Christian Elders (O.K., I’m Christian.); The Dating Service for Black Christian Elders (O.K., I’m Christian.); Women Seeking Women (Hhm!?); Men Seeking Men (A young intern must have been a bit judicious with an email blast.); and the latest, Meet other Single Indians ( . . . same intern.)

I have joked about my flooded email box for years, but now must admit that I recently grasped onto an eHarmony promotion – one month free. It was not an easy decision; I pondered it over a couple of episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians. When I made my decision, I was going to keep my curiosity an utter secret, but then eHarmony delivered my first match: my dear friend’s ex-husband! Now how do I keep that a secret? He did not mention “infidelity” in his list of favorite activities, or “unreliability” as one of his most endearing traits.

So, though there are countless success stories born of dating services and I may consider the opportunity again in the future, I considered my first match to be strike three. I know; I skipped strike one and two. I’m a busy person. Ask my children; they usually join me when I watch Keeping up with the Kardashians.

By Erin Heffernan

Erin Heffernan is a photographer in Scituate. Her Wink South series, "Shutter to Think", explains how looking at life from a different angle, even if it's via the viewfinder, can offer valuable lessons (and sometimes comic relief!).