Tired of Being Alone? 7 Reasons to Look Into Online Dating
Sometimes it’s perfectly ok to be alone. For example, if you are reading a book, meditating, or using a restroom. But, with most other tasks, being alone can be, well … lonely. If you are tired of being alone day after day, then it just might be time to investigate if online dating is for you.
While matchmaking has been around for as long as anyone can remember, the idea of people meeting online became mainstream with the release of the movie You’ve Got Mail in 1998. This movie focused on the benefits of Instant Messaging (IM). But, in 1995, the first dating website went live, but online dating was not a hit until a few years later when the largest site when live in 2000. It simply took people a few years to realize that online dating wasn’t a scam and now thousands of people who meet online get married each year.
If you haven’t tried online dating, now is the perfect time to start. Here are seven reasons why:
1. It fits your schedule
Online dating is something that you do on your time. You can create your profile at your own pace and you can check your account when it is convenient for you. When you find someone that you would like to meet, you can talk to that person online when it is convenient for you, too. With online dating, there is no need for any unwanted interruptions during work, school, or at any other times.
All too often, people say they are not ready to date because they do not have time. But, with online dating apps, there is no reason to spend hours at a bar hoping to meet someone. You only need a few minutes on any given day as you look for someone to meet.
2. It’s become the norm
When online dating first appeared on the Internet, people were leery. There were stories of people making up profiles and not using actual photos of themselves. Now, online dating has become the norm as millions have used online dating platforms and millions have found long-term relationships. In the early days of online dating, people who used the platforms were not comfortable talking about their experiences. Now, online dating is serious business and is part of everyday conversations. Learn more about how normal online dating has become.
3. Reduces anxiety
Anxiety is a common emotion for people who are playing the field and looking for love. When you use an online dating platform, you can reduce your anxiety about meeting new people because you get to know people online before you meet them in public. Being able to pre-screen everyone you meet online is one of the best benefits of using an online dating app. You can chat with someone online for as long as you want before you meet in person.
While this might not completely remove the anxiety that you could feel meeting someone in person, having online conversations and seeing pictures of each other does bring a sense of comfort to the event.
4. There’s a site for everyone
It doesn’t matter how old you are, what you do for a living, and what you enjoy doing outside of work, there is an online dating site that has people like you on it. Of course, there are online dating platforms that are designed for everyone, but there are niche-market websites that are for specific populations. For example, there are sites for people over certain ages, for people who participate in certain religions, and for people who are well-educated professionals. These sites make it easier to find the perfect person for you as it narrows down those who might not have the same interests as you have.
5. Choice
On the flipside, there are massive dating sites that have up to 10 million users. With numbers like this, you will most likely have a few that match up with you. If you are looking for someone to date in your community, you are limited to the people in your community. But, when you use online dating platforms, you can look for people who live anywhere. You get to choose.
Once you have your parameters set, you get to make choices on who you would like to talk to online. Then, you get to choose who you want to meet in public. You even get to choose what you want to reveal about yourself in your profile and during all of the stages of getting to know people online. It really is all about choice.
6. It’s an active way to meet people
When you try to meet people in real life, you never know what will happen. You might sit at a bar for hours and never talk to anyone. You might hang out at the library, hoping to meet someone, but no opportunities arise. You might be waiting for your friends to set you up with someone. This is a passive way to meet people – you show up and hope something happens. It doesn’t work well, because there isn’t any work involved. It’s just waiting, hoping, and experiencing disappointment.
But, with online dating, the process is active. You create your profile and people respond. You can also respond to other people’s profile – so you get to actively show your interest in people you see online. This is really what separates online dating from traditional forms of dating: there is no waiting, especially if you do not want to wait.
7. It works
Online dating has proven to work. The numbers are staggering. As of April 2017, almost 20% of Internet users actually use an online dating app. Users appreciate that they can pre-screen people before they meet new people in real life. In January 2018, 25% of women and 21% of women have met someone and entered into a long-term relationship through online dating apps. It is statistics like these reported by independent organizations that keep people coming back to the online dating world.