Online Dating - A Whole New World

Not so long ago there was a certain stigma surrounding the idea of two people meeting through contact on the Internet. Not so now though! Online dating is becoming more favorably accepted in society, with many dating sites offering facilities and features that make it convenient, exciting and safer to interact without the necessity of staying in a bar until the early hours...

As life becomes more hectic, with the pressures of work, family and other commitments, many adults find it increasingly difficult to make time to socialize, and especially at venues where they are more likely to meet a prospective partner. Others have become disenchanted with the bar scene, or late night clubs, and it is not surprising that a growing number of people are looking to the internet to find friendship, romance or even marriage.

The obvious benefits of online dating revolve around the confidentiality and security limits which are decided by each individual. In creating your profile you choose the details you want to be made public about your physical attributes, character, likes, dislikes etc and in adding a photo image to your profile, you are in control of how others will see you. You can choose who you would like to interact with, the level of interaction and who you would rather ignore.

So you make contact with one or two members who have taken your eye for one reason or another. Physical attraction is all important, and fortunately for us all, we have differing tastes in what we find appealing in others. Initial contact can be made through a whisper or wink to show the interest is there, and the next interaction would typically be through the website's internal emailing system. This is not a live process so you have plenty of time to think about what you write, or how you answer questions. At this point you are still remaining reasonably anonymous, as all the other members know about you is what they have learned from viewing your profile.

Once that initial approach has been made, a few email messages have been exchanged, and the interest still remains, the next step in the online dating process would ideally be to engage in live chat. This is where you really get to learn about your prospective date. Many dating sites have either an instant messenger program within the site or a chat room. Instant messenger gives you the option of making contact in a live 'one on one' situation, whereas you will have the opportunity to chat to a plethora of users in a chat room, either privately or in public. Members will usually type their live messages as they normally talk, so you start to learn about the character behind the keyboard. Their sense of humour, education and attitude to subjects will start to become apparent. It is amazing how much you can learn about a fellow member's makeup through online chat.

There are those that hide behind the Internet, and are not honest about certain aspects of their personal statistics. For example, age, height and size may all be inaccurate on their profile, and in some cases, devious users may even use a photograph that is several years old or not even of themselves. This is where the use of the webcam comes in handy. Camming has to be an important part of the online dating process, and should take place before any live meeting. You can identify physical attributes as well as witnessing a smile, or see the mannerisms that are distinctive to that particular person. Here is where you decide whether or not you want to meet your friend in person and take the process offline.

Even if you are excited about your new date and are thinking very positively about the prospects of a live meeting, there can still be a level of disappointment when you actually meet. Nothing is for certain and although you can seem to hit it off online and even through phone calls, there is no way to examine the chemistry through a keyboard. And very often you will know within the first few minutes of meeting.

However, the process of online dating, can be extremely exciting and the excitement far outweighs the disappointment. It's good to take your time and let the process happen at a steady rate. The online dating process cant be rushed, and cutting corners will usually end in disaster. So enjoy the early interactions, learn about your new found friendship, keep your personal security as high as it needs to be, and try to keep your expectations down to a minimum until you finally get to meet that special someone. By that time you will know far more about him/her than you would on a conventional first date.

Online dating has many advantages. Use them all to the fullest and you'll discover a whole new world which can be a great deal of fun and an extremely adventurous experience.

Trevor Taylor