Photo: VCG

These days with technology literally at our fingertips, we can do just about anything on our electronic devices and that includes dating, or at least finding a date.

There is a plethora of dating websites at our disposal and it seems like there are more coming online all the time. Even baby boomers can get in on the action if they so choose. However, even though it's all about convenience, for folks over the age of 50 it can be daunting.

More than 48 percent of people over 50 turn to online dating for a serious relationship, 26 percent for friendship, and 14 percent for casual dating.

Online dating has changed how we meet new people and look for partners. In the US, it is now the second most popular way for heterosexual couples to meet. It seems the days of going out to bars and nightclubs, dances or other social gatherings where you can actually meet someone new face to face are long gone.

Online dating sites have blown all that away. Instead of socializing with someone to figure out if you like him/her, now with technology at our disposal you can make that decision without even having to meet them in person.

A swipe to the right on your electronic device keeps a person you might be interested in as an option, a swipe to the left deletes them from your list. The thing is there's always another candidate to add to the list and therein lies the problem.

If you're over 50, finding a partner online is even more complicated because you're not looking for the same things you were when you were younger. 

In an effort to cut through dating site hit and misses, a revolutionary new matchmaking platform has been launched in Los Angeles. The List is the first of its kind mobile application that leverages real-life matchmakers and technology to help people find more meaningful and lasting love connections, regardless of your age. It modernizes the way matchmaking has been done for decades.

Founder and CEO, Constance ­Curtis, says most mobile dating websites have lost the human touch, which is where The List comes into play. Their matchmakers search, vet and manage all potential dates.

"No more swiping, no more ghosting and no more failed connections," she says.

Curtis says when she was younger, she thought dating sites were exciting, but the older she got and the more she wanted a committed, serious relationship she found the whole process became time consuming and on top of that a lot of online profiles were misleading.

Another big deterrent was the cost involved. To hire your own personal matchmaker can cost $14,000 or more per year.

Curtis says the main reason The List verifies people before setting them up on a date is to avoid situations where someone shows up for a date only to find the other person isn't who they said they were in their online profile.

Creating a fake profile is known as "catfishing" and she says it's very common, which is why The List insists on meeting people in person to verify they are who they say they are.

"Everything from looking like your photo and your age," says Curtis.

"We find that a lot of older men lie about their age online. They may be 60 but online they may say they're 50 and that can be frustrating, so we make sure what they're saying online is true."

Before online dating was a thing, you would meet somebody in real life and if you enjoyed their company you might go on another date. You would decide for yourself if you liked them.

However, irrespective of your age, you had better get used to the idea that traditional methods of finding a date are on the decline, indeed, they are probably passé.

The fact of the matter is online dating is here to stay. People are meeting online and everything points to that trend continuing in the future, so if you're looking to meet someone it seems that your options are dating websites and mobile matchmaking apps.

Sociologist Pepper Schwartz met her husband on a dating site when she was in her 60s. She advises people 50 and older to join a site that requires a membership fee. "These make for better behavior because they keep credit cards on file," she told USA Today.

Schwartz suggests setting a time limit to find a partner is not the way to go, but rather you should commit to finding one. "It's like looking for a job. You don't say, 'I'll try it for a year.' You look until you get the darn job."