Online Dating: Your Soul Mate is Only a Click Away

Though online dating is becoming more socially acceptable, there is still some stigma attached to using online dating sites. But online dating can be the best way to meet someone who you can actually have a meaningful relationship with.

Even in this technologically-centered culture, some people still seem to think that there is something wrong with making use of technology to meet a romantic partner. People who use internet dating services are sometimes seen as “pathetic” or as people who simply can’t find someone to date in the “real world.” But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

With online dating, you have more control over who you meet. You can view people’s profiles and get a feel for what kind of person they before you even talk to them. When you meet someone in “real life,” like at a bar or a similar venue, you have no idea what they are like. All you know about this person is that they are “hot.” Even after talking to them, you still might not know what they are actually like, especially if they are simply feeding you lines. It is much, much easier to find someone with common interests and values as you on the internet.

Some dating sites are better than others. For example, sites like Yahoo! Personals don’t ask very in depth questions and make you pay a membership fee to actually talk to anyone you might be interested in. Other sites, such as eHarmony (which I haven’t actually tried) also cost a membership fee, but offer compatibility tests to match you with someone who might actually be compatible.

The best site I tried has been OKCupid.com. It is 100% free and offers an optional compatibility test to help find better matches. I met my boyfriend there the first day that I was a member, and we’ve been together for a year an a half as of October 2009 (met at the end of March 2008 and started dating “officially” in April 2008). I decided to try online dating simply because I was tired of dating people I met in real life, only to find out shortly after that we were in no way compatible and that they weren’t as serious about a relationship as I would have liked. At the time that I started dating my boyfriend, I did have people from “real life” interested in me, but I didn’t want to lower my standards yet again for someone I wasn’t really into.