Considering online dating? 10 pros and cons you need to know

Online dating is becoming a global phenomenon and, today, it is not at all unusual for people to use dating sites to find true love. In theory, dating sites take some of the chance out of dating, and they match you to people who have similar interests and lifestyles. There is no doubt that online dating does help some people find true love, but there are some pitfalls too. Lets’ take a balanced view of online dating and look at both the pros and cons of looking for love on the web.

1. It brings single people to one place

One big difference between a dating site and, say, a nightclub, is that everyone you meet on a dating site should, if they are being honest, be single and be looking for a partner, so your odds of finding a match should be higher. It’s much better than just hoping that you will bump into someone who is a great a guy and who is available, by chance.

2. People lie on dating sites

One of the biggest drawbacks of dating sites is that some people lie. They use old pictures of themselves, they lie about their jobs and their prospects and they make up a profile that they think will attract people, rather than one that is true. The truth will come out when you meet them, but it can mean that you waste a lot of time dating the wrong types of people.

3. They can be great for people who are a bit shy

If you are a bit nervous about talking face to face with people you don’t know, then dating sites can be very good for getting to know someone a bit before you actually meet up with them. You need to meet them in person at some stage, but dating site sites can make that initial contact a lot easier to handle.

4. They can cost a lot of money

Let’s not forget that online dating is a business and the best sites can charge you quite a lot of money for their services. It’s not fortunes that we are talking about, but if you were to join a number of sites, the cost could soon mount up. The flip side to that is that the more expensive dating sites do provide a better matching service and it is more likely that you will meet people who taking the site seriously.

5. It widens your net

Online dating sites give you the opportunity of meeting people that you might not have otherwise met. You are not restricted to own social circles, the places you usually go, or even your own town or city. That will greatly improve your chances of meeting someone you like and it might even introduce to some types of people that you hadn’t considered before.

6. You can’t really judge a person on a dating site

Dating sites are limited in how much information they can hold and they can only tell you so much about a person. The only way you can really tell what is a person is like is to meet them face to face. You need to be able to see their body language and look into their eyes, before you can make any kind of sensible decision about a person.

7. It takes some of the guess work out of dating 

The best dating sites really do try to match people according to what they put in their profiles, and that means that you should at least have some things in common with a person you meet. There are no guarantees, but it does take some of the guess work out of dating so, in theory, you have something to talk about on every date you go on.

8. There are some con artists on dating sites

Although dating websites do their best to protect you from scams, some unscrupulous people do use dating sites to try to extract money from people. There have been some pretty elaborate scams where people have been duped into sending money to people who have claimed things like: their grandmother needs an urgent operation, or even just asking you to send money to pay for them coming to see you.

9. Dating sites can be fun

If you want to meet lots of new people and you don’t take it too seriously when they turn out to be different from what you expected, then dating sites can be a lot of fun. Most people don’t have a lot of spare time on their hands these days, so dating sites are a great way to increase your chances of meeting someone special and have some fun in the process.

10. You have to be safety conscious

Whenever you meet someone in person that you first met on a dating site, treat it as though it were a blind date. You may think you know something about the person, but you can’t be sure, so take all the usual sensible precautions. Don’t give away any personal details, meet in a public place, and tell someone where you are going. Dating sites aren’t filled with creeps, but just be careful anyway.

Source: Beauty and Tips