Online Dating: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Have you ever spoken to a single man or woman about their online dating horror stories?

What makes a good online dating site?  Is there such a thing? 

An online dating service enables you to network and chat with people from all over the world.  You can also upload photos, fill out profiles to help people get to know you, post comments and messages about yourself and other subscribers.

Some online dating sites are restrictive on their registration procedure while others have  little requirements for registration. Other users think you should have to pay some monthly fee for the dating sites.  The perception is that when you pay for a service, you'll receive better dating choices and feel more safer.

The positive side of online dating is the ability to chat and get to know someone.  Yet the truth is, online dating service members are presenting whatever persona they want others to see.  The face-to-face reality is missing and you don't know who or what you're speaking with. There's a lot of room for deception when people post twenty year old photos of themselves when they were 30 pounds lighter.

I know I sound cynical about online dating sites, but my real concern is that I'm tired of seeing so much heart break.  On the contrary, I've seen people meet on these sites and end up getting married.

To be fair, here are some of the best tips to make your online dating experience a positive one.

•Prepare your online profile beforehand.  An online profile includes a username, a headline, a section about you in your own words, a section about what you're looking for in a mate, a check box area of likes/dislikes and a photo section. Do yourself a favor by filling out a lot of what you'll post on the online dating site by writing it out before visiting the site.  

•Describe yourself in an honest way. Your profile tells others what qualities you have that makes you the person you are.  Too many online dating profiles are filled with statements that attempt to make you sound cool and hip.  Drop the hipster lingo and be honest about who you are and what you're looking for.  

Also, if you're a Christian or Jewish or another faith, be honest about the kind of person you're  seeking.  You may want a partner who finds spirituality to be an important aspect of a relationship. 

•Look for online dating services that offer offline events available to you. You should be given the opportunity to meet a large number of possible dating partners offline.  You can also find out if the 25 year old guy you've been chatting with is really 45.

•Check out dating services that do background checks on their subscribers.  Make sure the service certifies their subscriber's marital status and their age. Research shows that people start to tell the truth about their age, height, and weight after you've shown some interest in them. Why would you want to date them now that you found out they've been lying all the time? 

•For those not the online dating types, there are other places to meet potential dates.  How about coffee shops, church or synagogue functions, sports games, bookstores, libraries, movie theatres, lectures and concerts?  

The problem with the online dating technique is that it discourages people from getting out into the real world to meet one another and forces you to rely on impersonal chat rooms, emails and anonymity.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

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