Is Online Dating For You?
My friends over at Consumer Advocate wrote a Guest Blog on Online Dating. Do you Love it…OR Hate it?
Enjoy!
Bob
Let’s be honest. Most of us have either tried on-line dating or at least considered it. Online dating can be both a fun and exhausting experience depending on how much you use the various sites and what your expectations are.
So many of us spend a lot of our day connecting with friends on phones through all the different platforms like Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter, that is seems only natural to meet some on-line.
Or is it? Of course, there are a lot of pros and cons with on-line dating. Below are just a few that might help you decide if it’s worth getting your picture profile ready.
First, let’s go through the pros:
Convenience
The reason on-line dating sites are so popular is because they are super easy to use and can be accessed any time of day or night. If you move to a new area and you want to meet some new people, it is just that simple. Work at home and want to get out? Just sign up and start browsing.
Widens Your Dating Pool
You can only ask your friends to set you up so many times or maybe you feel like you’ve already exhausted your resources. With online dating, you can meet people that you never have met or seen who could even live just two blocks away! Because on-line dating sites are set up to find matches geographically, you can even expand beyond your neighborhood or even state if that’s of interest to you.
Find Compatible Matches
Every dating site, whichever one you choose, works on finding you the best matches based on your personality and preferences. Before you even start searching, you have to fill out at least your basic information, a picture and what you are looking for in a date, partner or new friend. If you are searching for a particular type, say someone athletic, you can search for someone who works out, or cooks, is straight, gay or whatever your preference.
And now some of the cons:
Profiles can be deceiving:
While this isn’t a big surprise, many on-line users lie on their profiles. Some little lies are innocent but a lot of women and men will lie about their age, height, weight and even occupation. In fact, there are many users of these sites that have been outright scared on their dates or just completely annoyed because their profile is not at all what they are like in real life.
There is no accountability
When meeting through a friend, you know this person is at least a good person or even a match. When they contact you, they will usually follow through with a date or at least a few phone calls. A lot of on-line dating is a phone conversation, a text, an elaborate email exchange and then they’re gone. No more texts or emails. It’s called ghosting because they simply disappear!
It’s a crowded digital field
While it’s a great option to have so many different men or women to choose from, it can be hard to either stand out or even weed out the right people. Some men and women are on multiple sites so how can you compete when everyone is always looking for the bigger, better, prettier or more handsome deal!
While on-line dating isn’t for everyone, it can be a great alternative option to try out and see if it works for you. There have been many successful on-line relationships that have led to marriage and children.
If you give it a try and like it, well, there you go. And, if on-line dating isn’t for you, than maybe it’s time to call cousin Mary and agree to go on a date with that guy she’s been raving about for the last few months!
Lisa Fimberg is a writer for Consumers Advocate.org, a site that reviews everything from on-line dating to even yoga mats. When she isn’t writing, you can find her on a run, a hike or even contemplating on-line dating
