With technology taking over most of our lives, wouldn’t it make sense to have it take over our dating life as well? While some people have chosen to go shopping for dates online, others have decided to stay old school.
And I’m not knocking anyone for their dating strategy– we are just exploring a different way of meeting someone. It’s getting harder to meet people in the real world, so why not give online dating a try?
But just to clarify–no, I’m not on eHarmony.com or any of those other sites, but I do have friends that are and I love to hear their stories about what made them decide to try the web.
There have been good stories, bad stories and some very comical ones. But all show one similarity– they weren’t meeting people at traditional places. So, they decided to take charge of their dating lives and created a profile. Low and behold they got dates, found significant others, and struck out a hell of a lot. But is putting yourself out there online, better than not putting yourself out there at all? Let’s explore…
My first story is about a gorgeous girlfriend who has had a ton of success online. In fact, I think she goes on more dates than anyone I know! In college, she met people but never really had that connection with anyone special. So after moving away post graduation and landing an awesome job, you’d expect guys to be flocking– right? Well they weren’t (or at least the right ones) so she took it upon herself to create an online profile.
That’s one of the positives from online dating. You have the potential to meet tons of people and you know they all find you attractive because they saw your picture first. You can go out, have fun and are capable of avoiding them after the date forever if necessary. Seems like an awesome strategy for dating!
On the flip side, I met an older guy the other night who had just left a bad date and you guessed it–he met her online. He said her picture was 10 years younger and 50 lbs lighter. Sounds vain but it’s not. She lied and he wasn’t attracted to her because she wasn’t what he expected. So you see, it’s very easy for people to portray themselves differently online, which is pretty scary considering all the crazies we have in the world today. The person you are meeting can be anyone. Thank goodness my girlfriend from college hasn’t had this problem.
My last story is about another college friend who found her soul mate online. She dated a fair share of people in her early 20′s but again, after college, wanted something more serious. Her profile went up and soon she found herself interested in a man. When they finally met, it was fireworks and they have been by each other’s side ever since.
In reality, finding a soul mate online isn’t the most common story you hear couples tell–but it happens. Look at my friend, she couldn’t be happier. It all comes down to dating preferences and if you’re into opening your horizons.
Personally, I’m pretty traditional when it comes to relationships. I don’t think I’d be comfortable enough to someday tell my parents, “we met online.” It’s just not for me–at least right now. But times they are a changin’ and every relationship has the potential for the same outcome; they either work or don’t. I’ve seen successful online relationships and I’ve seen some crash and burn just like every other “traditional” one.
So this is what I want to know–with all the positive and negative reasons to join a dating website, is opening your cyber horizons better than sticking to the traditional ways of dating?
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