You’ve probably heard of online dating.
You may even have a few friends that do it.
But, despite your curiosity, you haven’t been able to convince yourself to actually try it out.
We’re here to answer some of your burning questions.
I’m like a walking commercial for online dating.
Are people really doing this?
When it comes to the internet, there’s not much peoplearen’tdoing.
The question is whether the people doing it are the ones you’d want to date.
And you’d be surprised.
Online dating is kind of like farting in public.
Most people won’t admit it, but plenty of them do it.
Unlike farting in public, though, online dating’s stigma is quickly going away.
If you ask around, you’ll be surprised how many people you know are doing it.
It’s not just internet-addicted geeks (myself notwithstanding).
What if someone I know sees my profile?
What do you have to be embarrassed about?
Didn’t you read the answer to question 1?
Remember: there are more people doing this than you probably realize.
And if you’resaying stupid stuffon your profile…well, don’t.
More importantly: on most dating sites, your profile isn’t truly “public”.
The only people who can see your profile are other people signed up for the site.
Neither of you have anything to be embarrassed about.
Isn’t online dating unsafe?
Sure, meeting strangers can be unsafe.
In fact, unless you have a buddy system with Batman, it’s probably safer.
Schedule your date for a public place, let someone know where you are, and so on.
We’ve talked about this in detail before, socheck out that postfor more info.
Doesn’t everybody just lie online?
Slow down, Dr. House.
But that guy you met at the bar lied about being married, too.
People don’t lie because it’s the internet.
People lie because sometimes people are dumb.
Fortunately, not everyone does it.
Online dating seems really impersonal.
That’s not a question, but I’ll forgive you.
“But what about just meeting people organically?”
I can hear some of you say.
It hardly feels impersonal when you put it that way.
(Well,most of the time).
Are paid sites better than free ones?
“Better” is relative.
Free sites might skew younger or have more members, while some paid sites might contain more serious relationship-seekers.
What should I say in my profile?
How much should I reveal?
Let’s start by going back to a point I made earlier: don’t lie.
You’ll have better luck if you’re honest.
Instead, try something active.
What should I say in my messages?
At what point should we meet in real life?
This isn’t an online forum for endless chatting.
If you wait too long, they may think you aren’t interested in and move on.
I’m getting no responses to the messages that I send out.
This is a common complaintoften from menand there are a few reasons it could happen.
Give your profile a once-over and see if there might be any off-putting remarks.
confirm you’re sending messages that aren’t too short and quippy, or too long and detailed.
That helped me a ton when I started out.
Don’t get too attached to people’s online profiles.
I’m getting a billion messages without having done anything.
A more common problem for women, chances are a lot of the messages you’re receiving are junk.
Just likean overflowing email inbox, don’t keep checking your messages throughout the day.
It’s much less overwhelming, and pretty easy to weed through.
Tell it to me straight: Does online dating actually work?
I don’t know if it will work for you.
That’s a crap answer, but it’s the only answer I have.
It’s easier in densely populated areas than in rural areas, for example.
I said this earlier, butchoosing the right sitecan go a long way.
Check out the demographics of different sites to see which one is ideal for you.
Title image remixed frommatsevich_maxim(Shutterstock),Knumina Studios(Shutterstock), andOvchinnkov Vladimir(Shutterstock).
