A
personal or
personal ad is an item or notice traditionally in the
newspaper, similar to a
classified advertisement but
personal in nature. In British English it is also commonly known as an advert in a
lonely hearts column. With its rise in popularity, the
World Wide Web has also become a common medium for personals, commonly referred to as
online dating. Personals are generally meant to generate
romance,
friendship, or casual (sometimes sexual) encounters, and usually include a basic description of the person posting it, and their interests.