The online medium seams to surpass the offline in many domains of our life, including dating. There are hundreds of dating websites, millions of couples met online and an extraordinary number of people found their true love on the Internet. Internet dating tends to be more common than the traditional one, but they are not the same, the rules are different.
Inhibition is very much reduced in Internet dating. In case you meet someone via email, Facebook or other social media, the possibility to reveal personal information is higher than in face to face dating. You can easily share personal things and later regret doing so.
The online medium makes you less inhibited because you think you`ll never get to know that person in reality. This is true, but remember that what goes online cannot be stopped. If you share personal info with a person you hardly know there is no guarantee that person will not publically disclose your little secrets since he/she also has the proof – your conversations. Another interesting aspect about online dating is that it makes people bolder and they discuss very personal questions at a very early stage of the relationship.
It is very difficult to know if you will be physically attracted to the person you meet online. Usually, people use only the best photos in their profile. It`s known that a picture says a thousand words, but a picture does not stands for physical chemistry. You can be extremely attracted to the man/woman in the picture, but when you meet in person the magic is gone and months of online dating become useless. One thing is sure, the truth comes out when you get to meet that person in reality.
On a traditional date you can easily observe the partner`s non-verbal communication and reactions, while Internet dating hides them. Ticks, tempers and other negative characteristics are not revealed during online dating. Attention is required as there are plenty of crazy people online that can mislead you.
Another problem about Internet dating is that a lot of married men create fake dating accounts just to prove themselves they still know how to do it. In order to bruise their egos, they seduce women by posing as single, caring and honest men. Some of them even go further and meet these women. Of course this can happen in traditional dating too, but the online dating is easier and they can play their game without even leaving the home.
Still, there are many advantages of online dating. You can easily find people with similar interests, beliefs or age, while sidestepping non-matching people. Internet dating vanishes boundaries, so it can be done regardless the country or continent. Online communication is quick and efficient, so the initial commitment and investment are minimum.
