Dating binge began on a whim

Mr. Tjong, a 26-year-old associate at a major New York law firm, was coming off a breakup and wanted to play the field. Out of curiosity, he said, he signed up with an online personals service and posted his photograph — an artsy profile shot in which he resembled a brooding Johnny Depp — In just a day, he got e-mail responses from a dozen women. ”It was a great ego boost,” he said. ”I was amazed it could be so easily done.”

Mr. Tjong began checking the online service Nerve.com several times a day to see how many responses his ad had generated. He posted more ads — and more Johnny Depp shots — all of them slightly varied, Pretty soon Mr. Tjong was going on dates — lots of dates. ”In the first two to three weeks I was meeting people every night,” he said. ”Sometimes more than one date a night.” In just a few short months, Mr. Jong said he went out with around 70 women — usually an after-work drink with the option of an easy escape if things didn’t work out.

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