Online Dating — The Blessing Of Our Century!
What is online dating?
Likely everyone wants to get to know someone, it doesn’t matter what they’re looking for, if you desire something casual, or if you want to marry, there’s an online dating platform for everything. Website providers help you find like-minded people. And online dating is used by more and more people nowadays, making it even easier to find your perfect match. Some people also look critically at it, because they think it to be something new.
Online dating history
The concept of connecting singles is nothing new. Over centuries humanity had different ways of doing so. Sometimes with traditions such as in the former East-Germany, where you would have a fake piercing in your face, and depending on where you put it, it would tell everyone, if you’re single or not. Sometimes with events, such as the Andreas Night, a day on which many singles in medieval Europe would dedicate themselves to find and approach each other so that they can dance through the night together.
Later than we looked for singles in bars, cafés or parks, and thus some places just became known for being good to get to know singles, just like today. After the wars, speed-dating cafés would pop up everywhere, and probably the first time someone looked for a partner, not in person, was in a 17th-century-English newspaper. So the concept is nothing new, we just took it online.
How does dating work?
Online dating is an easy way to get to know someone, all you have to do is to find a website you like. It’s important to note that you won’t find “the perfect website”. Many websites vary in what they offer and what they are known for. So it’s important to know beforehand what you want and where you’ll find it. As long as you have a clear idea of that, you’ll find the online dating website that’s perfect for you!
After you choose an online dating website, you’ll need to register on it. For this, you’ll need to provide some information, and often also a proof of identity, such as a credit card, a driver’s license, or an ID card. This might be annoying, however, it’s necessary to create a secure and fun environment.
After registration and verification, the next step is to set up a profile. This looks at least similar on every website. Here you’ll have to state your hobbies and interests. Also, your age and sometimes your height is needed as well. Some websites ask for some more information about you, some others for less, your education, or what you’re looking for might be other questions to answer. Just answer these truthfully, to find a good match for you. Add some pictures and a short text about yourself, so that your profile looks more appealing to others.
Now online dating websites can work wonders. With the information you gave them they’re looking for people you might be interested in. Matchmaking algorithms check which profiles might be appealing for you, and suggest you to take a look at them. If you rather take the initiative, you could go to look for someone yourself. Just as you stated your hobbies, others did as well. With search tools, you can now look for people that might catch your interest. Feel free to filter for hobbies, age, maybe even eye color, that’s why these tools are there.
Why online dating is effective?
Finding dates
Online dating has several advantages compared to traditional dating. Firstly you’ll find only people that want to date someone. How often have you approached someone and it turned out that he or she doesn’t even want to date someone right now? Or even worse, it turns out, she’s 17, even though she looks like 24! That’s something that won’t happen on online dating platforms, after all, people sign up there, in order to date. Thus, a big point to bring frustration is already excluded before the dating even started!
Connecting interests
Moreover, due to some information, such as hobbies and interests, is stated on a profile, you’ll be able to look for people that might catch your interest. Offline, on the other hand, there are often situations, after you approached someone, where you realized that this is not the best match, and that you just don’t fit each other, because you have nothing in common, another point where point, where the frustration potential is reduced greatly.
Online dating saves time
Online Dating also takes less time than getting to know others offline. The time you’ll have to spend for the search is nothing compared to the days, or even weeks you’ll have to spend offline to find an interesting person, who’s not already in a relationship and who’s also interested in dating someone. On an online dating platform, on the other hand, you’ll have to sign up, and if you take your time you may need to spend another 5 minutes adjusting your search criteria until you have a whole list of people you may want to date!
Online dating is convenient
By now almost everyone has access to the internet and a device to use it. So place and time don’t matter anymore. Especially those from rural areas know how hard it can be to find someone interesting if there are only 20 others your age around. And how horrible would it be to miss the person you really want to get to know, because you go to the café at different times? On an online dating platform, everything is flexible! You can use it whenever you want and wherever you want, so you won’t miss anything.
Online dating becomes more and more popular
More and more people try their luck with online dating and this dynamic just causes it to be even more effective! More people to sign up on online dating platforms means also that there are more possible matches for every single person! To support this claim, in 2017, 39% of the couples in the US 39% stated they’ve found their partner online. This is almost double as much as just 8 years before! So online dating is definitely something that shouldn’t be underestimated!
Advice for safely online dating
Well, it’s still online, so there are some things everyone should be careful about. Nothing is worse for the dating experience if your date wants your money. But unlike offline, in online dating you can expose scammers rather easily and protect yourself, just by following a few simple steps.
Your Data
Be careful about what you share! Sure it’s important for others to see, which hobbies you have, how you look like, how old you are and more, but there are some things you should never share. The first date usually doesn’t happen at home, so there’s no reason to expose your address. It’s also better to keep your number for yourself until you got to know someone in person. Further, your bank details are not needed for getting to know each other, and no one wants to see your credit card just “out of curiosity”. Share what you need to share, but not more.
Files
Be careful with received files, not just when you date online, but in general. Gifs or Zips are a popular way to spread viruses and this may happen everywhere, whether it’s when you’re chatting with a lovely woman/man, or when you’re receiving an email from a workmate, or when your friend sends you a funny Gif on WhatsApp. The worst thing is, that accounts get hacked to spread this, so it can be literally your sister accidentally sending a vicious file. Online dating websites do their best, often with much success, to keep everything safe, yet you should also get an antivirus program for yourself.
Links
Pay attention to the website link, an easy way to see something is wrong is if the link starts with http instead of https. The missing “s” stands for a secured connection. Some scammers even try to imitate a website, for this, they create a website with a link that looks as similar as possible. However, you may take a look at it, the important part is black, the additional stuff is gray, if the main domain in the link is gray, you’re probably not anymore on the website you wanted to be. You should report profiles sending you links like this immediately! Nowadays, online dating providers punish such behavior hard, to keep everything safe for everyone.
How to choose online dating sites?
There’s nothing like a universal perfect online dating site. Instead, you’ll find different websites good for different things. Do you look for someone to marry? No worries, you’re covered. Do you look for something casual? There are online dating websites for this. Are you unhappy with your partner and look for a sidekick? Yes, you’ll find sites for this as well. Do you and your partner want to try out something new? No worries, there are also online dating sites to connect like-minded couples with each other. Do you think online dating is nothing for people older than 40? Then you’re wrong, there are also sides connecting mid- or old-aged people.
You just need to know what you want and where to find it. To check out which sites are here on [insert website name] recommended is an easy way to find your online-dating-website-match.
Pros and cons of online dating
Pros
- Get to know like-minded people
- Meet people open for dates
- See if someone might be interesting before you even write
- Use search tools save time
- Enjoy that many websites offer the customer support
Cons
- Often not for free
- Requires internet and a device to use it