The way I see it, there are many pros and cons to the whole online dating scene. I have to say that I do not buy in to the stereotypes that only complete losers use online dating sites. However, I do have my doubts about using the internet over face-to-face meetings. Exploring both sides is an important process to help you decide if the online dating world is right for you.
The first thing I need to address is the obvious fear of meeting a cute, funny guy online and then showing up to a date with a creepy old man. Now, I realize this is an extreme example, but there is a very real danger that there are some sickos out there who want to prey on unsuspecting young women. In addition, there is the fear of seemingly normal-looking guys trying to drug your cocktail or date rape you. On the other hand, there are millions upon millions of users online and most of them are probably decent guys.
The most common complaint internet-daters tend to have is the way people tend to stretch the truth in their profiles. This is not just the men, we women are also guilty of putting up that picture from two years ago when you were in great shape and wearing an awesome dress instead of a picture of yourself with your winter-weight at your desk in pyjamas. Try your best not to stretch the truth too much though, because the truth should be enough to attract the type of guy you should be dating—lying will only attract liars and create problems.
“My opinion is that it’s not for everyone, like I know it would never work for me. Just because I feel that if you want a real relationship it’s more natural for people to meet face-to-face,” says Leah, a third-year student at Carleton. Does this mean that you will be 100% dissatisfied with the person you finally meet? Not at all! But it DOES mean that you should be savvy about what you believe on other people’s profiles.
Keeping all of this in mind, there are definitely many pros to dating online! In this day and age, most of us use the internet to find jobs, apartments, and textbooks. We are constantly connected to friends and family online (via smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.) so it seems natural that romances could be easily found there as well.
“My friend met her boyfriend on PlentyOfFish.com, and they’ve been dating for about a year now,” said Kathryn, a first-year student at Carleton. It also alleviates a lot of the awkwardness of first encounters with people you might want to date—no more wondering if he’s single or trying to figure out if he’s attracted to you—because you are all on the dating website for the same reason. There are even student-oriented sites available now, such as ClassmateCatch.com, that makes it even easier for younger people to shake the stigma and try out online dating.