These days, it seems like there’s an online option for just about everything. Need to access your bank account? Most banks offer an online portal, or even an app. Feeling peckish? Place an order online, and get your food without even leaving the house.
As you’re probably aware, a lot of people are taking the dating process online too. Generally they’ll either use dating platforms, or adult chat sites like Flingster. Whatever the case, this is changing the way many people approach modern dating – and for some, it’s actually an improvement.
This isn’t to say that online dating is superior to a good old-fashioned “dinner and the movies”; it’s that each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, and everyone has their own preferences. If you’ve never considered online dating as a viable option, maybe it’s time to give it a second look. Who knows – you might end up learning something you never thought of before!
Online dating sites expand your options – by a lot.
One of the biggest obstacles to finding your next date is often the sheer lack of options. Maybe you aren’t able to get out much, or you simply live in a small town. Whatever the case, sometimes it isn’t enough just to put yourself out there and hope for the best.
Hop onto an online dating site, though, and you’ll have more choices than you can shake a stick at. The really gigantic dating platforms report over a million registered users, while others (even the “smaller” ones) still boast several thousand members. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find a match; there’s still the small matter of finding someone you actually like, and who likes you back. Even so, the mere fact that you have so many choices can put some pep back into your dating efforts.
Video chats make it possible to develop the relationship online, even if you’re on opposite ends of the country – or on different continents.
There’s one aspect of some dating sites (usually adult-oriented sites) that doesn’t get talked about enough, and that’s video chatting. Most dating platforms limit members’ communication to text chatting, but it’s assumed that the amorous couples will eventually meet in person. Unfortunately, that isn’t always an option.
If your dating site of choice offers video chats, though, you can keep the relationship going even if you can’t meet each other in real life. This minimizes one of the biggest barriers to long-term online dating: distance. Plus, it also means that you can get a lot more creative with your one-time online flings. In other words, video chatting is the factor that can take your online relationships to a level that actually resemble in-person relationships. It may take a bit more planning and flexibility, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably be glad you gave it a try!
The distance gives you some automatic safety barriers.
Whatever gender you happen to be, in-person dating does come with some safety risks – especially if the date ends with the two of you getting hot and heavy. The fact is, if you’re getting up-close and personal with a stranger, you’re trusting them with your physical safety without quite knowing whether they have your best interests at heart.
Online dating may not be perfect, but it certainly puts up an effective barrier against unwanted diseases, or partners who have issues with respecting boundaries. You can still have unpleasant experiences, sure, but you’ll have a lot more control over what happens when each interaction is limited to an allotted amount of screen space.
It’s easier to get over a rejection.
Getting rejected is tough, no matter what the context. And when that context is a romantic one, it can hit a lot closer to home. However, part of the pain of getting rejected is knowing that you might not get another chance for quite some time.
Back to the “many fish in the sea” aspect of online dating. Even if most of your matches won’t amount to the kind of connection you’re looking for, it’s still psychologically important for you to have all those choices. Not only should this make it easier for you to actively look for someone in the first place, but it’ll make potential rejections easier to handle.
After all, how many people are you rejecting every time you hop online? The more options you sort through, the more people there’ll be to pass over – so it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise when the same thing happens to you.
Your personal finances might end up enjoying online dating as much as you do.
Whether you like to go all-out, or your ideal date coincides with Taco Tuesday at the local eatery, dating usually involves spending money (especially if you’re the guy in a typical hetero relationship). In fact, planning a budget-friendly date is often enough to mark you as a cheapskate, especially if it happens early on in a relationship.
If the relationship is online, though, you won’t be going to fancy restaurants, catching the latest action movie, or visiting romantic destinations together; you’ll have to be a bit more creative with your date-night activities. The good news is, the liberal policies of most adult dating sites mean that you can still end your date night in the bedroom – but what can you do before then?
If this is the kind of dating scenario that’s meant to last more than one or two dates, you’ll likely end up spending some money. For instance, you could still order your own meals to eat over a video chat, or rent a movie and watch it together. However, it’ll probably still amount to less than you’d be spending in a typical dating scenario.
What do you think about online dating now?
It certainly isn’t perfect, but online dating does have a few things to offer that traditional dating doesn’t. And remember – you’ll never know what it’s like until you try it for yourself!