Somewhere between debating whether to date a smoker or a guy who still lives with his parents, a co-worker and I came up with an even more important consideration:

Should we date people who aren’t on (insert your favorite networking site here)?

In Nina’s case, it once came down to a difference of opinion: She’s an avid F’booker and a guy she met was a MySpacer. To date or not to date?

She asks: “But, as social networking is something I am interested in and excited to talk about, should it be something my partner also has an interest in?”

She posed the question at Indy.com to see what others thought.

Drinky_McGee said he’d much rather be in the company of a real human than “trade ones and zeros online.” He went on to say that Internet dwellers “tend to spill our guts about every aspect of our lives, hence removing any mystery.”

Isn’t that the point? Don’t we want to know everything about someone before it gets to the dreaded Point of No Return when you learn he’s got a severe obsession with Trey Anastasio? And trust me, that’s happened.

Seems like you could make this whole dating business a lot more efficient this way, and efficiency is America’s ultimate goal right now, eh?

Well, maybe not. What it comes down to is that a person’s existence online is the same as anything else in the dating world: either you have it in common with someone, or you don’t. And if you can date someone who’s of a different religion or political persuasion, then perhaps you can date someone who’s got a different idea about the Webs than you do, right?

Nina and I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why we thought it was a turnoff to date a Facebookless dude until we realized this. It’s not about the stalking. And it’s not about the lack of interpersonal communication, because we both realize there’s only so far a keyboard can take you in a relationship.

Facebook is a good 29 percent of my life. That’s a large percentage, so of course it’s something I look for in someone else. It might not necessarily be a deal breaker, but it’s just a little something extra to have in common.

It’s kinda like how it’s a bonus that a guy doesn’t laugh at my music collection when he realizes I’ve got six Cher albums.