Are you up to date with men?

TREND: Northlanders are turning to online dating sites and applications like Tinder. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

YOU can do anything with numbers.

Even this newspaper had fun representing the fact there are 5505 more women in Northland than there are men as "a gender gap" and "a man drought".

Some of us know a single woman is fairly likely to be a happy woman and we take exception to the word "drought" which implies a natural disaster, and men-starved women struggling to survive in the wilderness.

But in fun mode, the Advocate's story about the Census figures had a sidebar about an on-phone hook-up site called Tinder, and in the same edition columnist Eva Bradley also wrote about phone "sexting".

"Love and lust used to be hard won and, as a result, was held in higher regard," she wrote. "Today it can be secured in moments with the swipe of a finger and GPS technology."

There are cautionary tales for people who are single and searching on online sites and to a lesser extent using dating agencies but Whangarei Heads residents Leigh and Trish contacted the Advocate with their own good news story of seeking someone and finding each other.

Shying away from bars and clubs as good places to meet someone, Leigh joined an online site "to see if there was anyone worth taking to a movie and dinner and actually getting to know one another".

He and Trish replied to each other through dating code names, "and a real conversation began, as much as it can online".

"We saw each other's photo (real, not sexy) and talked to discover if we had common threads. After many wordy communications, we seemed compatible enough to actually meet."

Meeting also meant being introduced to -- and approved by -- adult children and friends "who could spot a phoney a mile away".

The couple knew what they wanted in a loving companion.

Leigh says humour, honesty and respect are vital qualities in the sometimes fraught but, when approached wisely, safe arena of online courtship -- as they are in any relationship.

"I believe it's harder for ladies to find a decent man because there are fewer men, and it's a brave thing for them to put themselves out there," Leigh said.

After meeting each other, the world took on a whole different meaning. Leigh and Trish moved from Auckland to Whangarei Heads a year ago, trusted their instincts and now host a homestay business together.

"I'm not saying for one minute that a dating site doesn't have its sleaze element, however if you are intelligent and careful enough to make it worthwhile it's a journey worth making.

"Our advice is adhere to the guidelines and make sure there are limited risks."