Its no gainsaying today that online dating is the in-thing. Job pressure and busy schedule are contributing factors to lack of physical social networking today. Therefore a lot of people have resolved to online dating to bridge the gap. The question is to what extent would you go to to get a date?
Men and women use dating sites to find love and relationship but some dating sites are more of escort service and the question is would you rather hook up with a dating site as opposed to conventional dating?
There are mixed feelings and diverse opinions about online dating. Just like anything else involved with dating, it has its pros and cons. As opposed to conventional dating, you never get to meet your date beforehand, all you rely on is the image posted on the profile which could be genuine or doctored to lure a ‘would-be’. I read of an instance where a lady subscribed to a dating site and found a very dashing young man’s picture profile, she read all about him and felt they were good match. He is based in the US and she lives in Africa. Ironically, the guy deliberately left out the fact that he is physically challenged. They kept exchanging mails and online chat and gradually got really close. After a couple of months, she got an invite to visit him in the US and realized she had been lied to. That’s the extent an online dating could go sometimes if you don’t do your homework properly.
In another instance I have heard of people who got swindled in the name of love on online dates. The People’s Court is one avenue to learn the reality of frauds on online dating. They drag themselves to court when reality dawns on them that they have been lied to or swindled.
The question here is what happened to the good old conventional way of meeting dates like the work place, church, bus station or college? Does it still work for us today? A thumb of rule says you can detect lies through eye contact and I believe this helps in face to face dating than online dating. Its so easy to hide behind technology and get away with deception. Nevertheless, some have been lucky to have beautiful relationship leading to marriage through online dating. It actually depends on how serious you do your home work and dig deep into your online date, chat on skype, at least to put a face to the name. In as much as extra precaution is needed in conventional dating more caution should be excised for online dating because its more of a gamble than the face to face date.
To help guide your decision, here are a few tips to consider before choosing your online date:
Background Check: If you are really serious about a long term relationship through online date, be sure to register with a legitimate dating site. Run a background check on your chosen date. Take the extra mile to verify the authenticity of the profile posted.
Keep your personal information: The world of technology today is like an open book. The more information you reveal to the world, the more of a victim you become and you may be an easy prey for fraudsters. Until you are sure of whom you are dealing with, keep you private information to yourself.
Ask Questions: Ask your chosen dates about personal family background before committing to any online relationship; parents, siblings, friends or associates. You can never ask enough about this and if your chosen date is legit, he’d be willing to bare it all. Also follow up on this information to verify the authenticity, call any of the contacts. Its better to get hurt knowing the truth in the beginning than realizing the truth later on.
Confide in someone: When going on your first physical date, confide in someone close to you. Let him or her know your where about, your meeting point and location. This is just a precaution in case anything goes wrong, bet you don’t want to be a victim of Craigslist killer. Remember, a stitch in time saves nine!
