Posts Tagged ‘Stigma’
Online Dating – 11 Reasons to Go Online for Love
Online Dating Guide asked:
Where do you go when you are looking for love?
Are you considering joining an online dating site but not sure it’s for you?
Let me tell you how I first discovered online dating and why I firmly believe it fits in with our modern day lifestyles.
A couple of years ago online dating still had a stigma attached to it. Although people were using the internet as a method of dating, they did not discuss it with friends or colleagues for fear of coming across desperate.
I recall a friend of mine who was initially embarrassed to tell me she had joined an online dating site. At the time, I was rather surprised as she was an attractive girl who would be considered quite a catch. However, after chatting to her I completely understood why she had resorted to this method of dating; she was simply tired of meeting timewasters who were not interested in committing to a relationship.
Whilst she had no desire to date some of the men who contacted her, there were quite a few she was interested in and she began a dating spell to make any “singleton” jealous. She then struck up an online relationship with someone who lived 100 miles from her. After exchanging many emails and chatting on the telephone, she decided to meet him. Obviously, the distance didn’t make the relationship ideal but the spark was there and she enjoyed 6 months dating someone with similar interests, shared romantic weekends together and had a fantastic holiday. Although he didn’t turn out to be “the one”, when I asked if she regretted joining an online dating site her answer was “Definitely not!” Her view was that if she hadn’t joined an online dating site, those 6 months would have been spent moaning about meeting the same timewasters in the same old haunts and wondering “what if”. She was simply being proactive in her search for love; after all life is far too short!
If you’re not convinced online dating is for you, here are 11 reasons why I think online dating has its advantages:-
1. You don’t have to wait until the weekend to meet someone.
2. You don’t have to get dressed up for a night “online”. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in at home.
3. If you work unusual hours online dating fits in with your schedule. You can log on at any time of the day to suit you; there is always someone online waiting to chat.
4. If you start chatting to someone and then decide they are not what you are looking for, put them back in the net gently and choose another. There are plenty of fish in the sea!
5. If you are tired of seeing the same old faces when you go out, there are people of all age groups all across the country waiting online to meet someone.
6. If you are new to an area online dating is a great way of meeting people whether it’s for friendship or dating. If you meet a few people online in your area, you can arrange a get together for you all rather than meeting on a one-to-one basis.
7. If all of your friends have settled down or you have recently become single what better way to meet new someone quickly than to go online and meet more singles!
8. Anonymous messaging and chat rooms let you flirt to your heart’s content without any embarrassment or getting tongue-tied.
9. You will probably find out more about someone online before you arrange a date with them than you would if you had met them in a bar. Online dating usually makes people more cautious about who they choose to date and in this day and age that can’t be a bad thing!
10. We now live and date very differently to previous generations where the traditional place to meet people was in nightclubs, parties, at work or through friends. By joining an online dating site you are not excluding these avenues but simply extending your opportunities of meeting someone.
11. Finally, 1 month’s membership costs less than a night out and gives you hundreds of opportunities to meet your perfect partner – every night!
With so many positive reasons to go online for love, finding your perfect partner has never been easier. Try it out for yourself and please let me know how you’re doing.
Read more about Online Dating at: Online Dating Guide Blog
Where do you go when you are looking for love?
Are you considering joining an online dating site but not sure it’s for you?
Let me tell you how I first discovered online dating and why I firmly believe it fits in with our modern day lifestyles.
A couple of years ago online dating still had a stigma attached to it. Although people were using the internet as a method of dating, they did not discuss it with friends or colleagues for fear of coming across desperate.
I recall a friend of mine who was initially embarrassed to tell me she had joined an online dating site. At the time, I was rather surprised as she was an attractive girl who would be considered quite a catch. However, after chatting to her I completely understood why she had resorted to this method of dating; she was simply tired of meeting timewasters who were not interested in committing to a relationship.
Whilst she had no desire to date some of the men who contacted her, there were quite a few she was interested in and she began a dating spell to make any “singleton” jealous. She then struck up an online relationship with someone who lived 100 miles from her. After exchanging many emails and chatting on the telephone, she decided to meet him. Obviously, the distance didn’t make the relationship ideal but the spark was there and she enjoyed 6 months dating someone with similar interests, shared romantic weekends together and had a fantastic holiday. Although he didn’t turn out to be “the one”, when I asked if she regretted joining an online dating site her answer was “Definitely not!” Her view was that if she hadn’t joined an online dating site, those 6 months would have been spent moaning about meeting the same timewasters in the same old haunts and wondering “what if”. She was simply being proactive in her search for love; after all life is far too short!
If you’re not convinced online dating is for you, here are 11 reasons why I think online dating has its advantages:-
1. You don’t have to wait until the weekend to meet someone.
2. You don’t have to get dressed up for a night “online”. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in at home.
3. If you work unusual hours online dating fits in with your schedule. You can log on at any time of the day to suit you; there is always someone online waiting to chat.
4. If you start chatting to someone and then decide they are not what you are looking for, put them back in the net gently and choose another. There are plenty of fish in the sea!
5. If you are tired of seeing the same old faces when you go out, there are people of all age groups all across the country waiting online to meet someone.
6. If you are new to an area online dating is a great way of meeting people whether it’s for friendship or dating. If you meet a few people online in your area, you can arrange a get together for you all rather than meeting on a one-to-one basis.
7. If all of your friends have settled down or you have recently become single what better way to meet new someone quickly than to go online and meet more singles!
8. Anonymous messaging and chat rooms let you flirt to your heart’s content without any embarrassment or getting tongue-tied.
9. You will probably find out more about someone online before you arrange a date with them than you would if you had met them in a bar. Online dating usually makes people more cautious about who they choose to date and in this day and age that can’t be a bad thing!
10. We now live and date very differently to previous generations where the traditional place to meet people was in nightclubs, parties, at work or through friends. By joining an online dating site you are not excluding these avenues but simply extending your opportunities of meeting someone.
11. Finally, 1 month’s membership costs less than a night out and gives you hundreds of opportunities to meet your perfect partner – every night!
With so many positive reasons to go online for love, finding your perfect partner has never been easier. Try it out for yourself and please let me know how you’re doing.
Read more about Online Dating at: Online Dating Guide Blog
6 1/2 Reasons Why Internet Dating is BETTER Than “Traditional” Dating
Connie Hillman asked:
For folks looking for love, using internet Personals websites such as Match.com and Yahoo Personals is fast becoming a mainstream, “normal” way to meet potential mates. Gone is the stigma of internet dating. Also vanishing is the fear that only misfits and ax murderers advertise on such sites. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most of us know at least one couple who met through the internet and are now dating or married. In fact, that’s how I met my husband!
People who used to wonder, “What kind of person uses the internet that way?” now wonder if it might be a good idea for them, too. I believe from my own success that not only is internet dating every bit as worthwhile and valid as traditional ways of meeting, but in important ways, internet dating is BETTER. Consider what internet dating does for you:
1. Empowers you to take control. No longer must you passively wait for a fantasy prince or princess to drop into your life. You can advertise your availability –and you can actively look by cruising through the Personals online. It puts you in the proverbial driver’s seat.
2. Gives you license to be BOLD. Online, you can make the first move and you can flirt unselfconsciously. For shy men and women, this is a godsend. In writing (in Personals and first e-mail exchanges), without having to initially face a live person, you may be yourself more easily. Instead of having to respond spontaneously in-the-moment and feeling flustered, you have time to think about how you want to present yourself. Gradually getting to know someone first in writing softens the anxiety of your first, in-person meeting later (assuming you want to proceed to an in-person meeting).
3. Makes it easier to say, “No, thanks. Goodbye,” if it doesn’t work out. If you decide after an email or two or a date or two that there is no chemistry, it’s much easier to nip the relationship in the bud. Saying, “No, thanks,” in an email is less awkward, especially for those who find it hard to say, “No,” to anyone. Additionally, you never have to see this person again as with other kinds of meetings: no uncomfortable moments at work or church bumping into a former date. There’s no need to explain to friends or family why you don’t like the person with whom they fixed you up. You can have a simple, clean break. Of course, after you develop an on-going, in-person relationship with someone, you owe your date an appropriate goodbye no matter how you met.
4. Gets “negative” issues out of the way first. Let’s face it, most people past a certain age have baggage: something physical, emotional or situational, or something from your past that affects your present and future life that you worry a date will not accept. Internet dating allows you to get those dreaded “talks” out of the way in anonymous communications before you even meet in person. Using a screen name and an anonymous email address lets you screen potential mates first, and eliminate intolerant fools who would not accept your issues. What you are left with are what sales people call “qualified leads,” people who meet your basic requirements.
5. Widens your net. The internet opens up the whole world to you. For practical reasons, you probably don’t want to cast your net quite that far, but you need not be limited to your own neighborhood or travel circles for meeting people. Maybe your ideal mate is just 20 miles away, but doesn’t go to places where you are likely to meet.
6. Targets your search to those who are available and looking. Do you wonder if someone you notice is approachable or looking for a relationship? How do you find out if someone is in the dating market? Online, you don’t have to wonder. They are declaring themselves as being out there, looking. You get to browse eligible singles. Can someone lie about being available? Sure, but no more than people you meet in-person. This way, you don’t waste time or energy on people who aren’t looking at all.
6 1/2. Get what you are looking for. The search features of internet dating websites allow you to narrow your search to qualities you want in a mate. Looking for a non-smoking, Jewish man in his 50′s? Easy. Most websites let you narrow your search by age, religion, geographic area, presence (or absence) of children and what kind of relationship you are seeking. Are you looking for a serious relationship? You can focus just on those, and eliminate the “advertisers” who are looking for a one-night stand. The internet makes no judgments; it simply matches people with similar goals. You take it from there. As you proceed with emails, you can also screen for your “deal breakers:” those things that you are not willing to accept in a relationship. You get to choose.
Conclusion. These advantages to internet dating are exactly why it has caught on like wildfire and why it is here to stay. There are no guarantees in life or in dating. The internet doesn’t solve all relationship problems or make instant, perfect matches. What is does is open a new universe of possibilities for people seeking companionship and love. Give it a try!
For folks looking for love, using internet Personals websites such as Match.com and Yahoo Personals is fast becoming a mainstream, “normal” way to meet potential mates. Gone is the stigma of internet dating. Also vanishing is the fear that only misfits and ax murderers advertise on such sites. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most of us know at least one couple who met through the internet and are now dating or married. In fact, that’s how I met my husband!
People who used to wonder, “What kind of person uses the internet that way?” now wonder if it might be a good idea for them, too. I believe from my own success that not only is internet dating every bit as worthwhile and valid as traditional ways of meeting, but in important ways, internet dating is BETTER. Consider what internet dating does for you:
1. Empowers you to take control. No longer must you passively wait for a fantasy prince or princess to drop into your life. You can advertise your availability –and you can actively look by cruising through the Personals online. It puts you in the proverbial driver’s seat.
2. Gives you license to be BOLD. Online, you can make the first move and you can flirt unselfconsciously. For shy men and women, this is a godsend. In writing (in Personals and first e-mail exchanges), without having to initially face a live person, you may be yourself more easily. Instead of having to respond spontaneously in-the-moment and feeling flustered, you have time to think about how you want to present yourself. Gradually getting to know someone first in writing softens the anxiety of your first, in-person meeting later (assuming you want to proceed to an in-person meeting).
3. Makes it easier to say, “No, thanks. Goodbye,” if it doesn’t work out. If you decide after an email or two or a date or two that there is no chemistry, it’s much easier to nip the relationship in the bud. Saying, “No, thanks,” in an email is less awkward, especially for those who find it hard to say, “No,” to anyone. Additionally, you never have to see this person again as with other kinds of meetings: no uncomfortable moments at work or church bumping into a former date. There’s no need to explain to friends or family why you don’t like the person with whom they fixed you up. You can have a simple, clean break. Of course, after you develop an on-going, in-person relationship with someone, you owe your date an appropriate goodbye no matter how you met.
4. Gets “negative” issues out of the way first. Let’s face it, most people past a certain age have baggage: something physical, emotional or situational, or something from your past that affects your present and future life that you worry a date will not accept. Internet dating allows you to get those dreaded “talks” out of the way in anonymous communications before you even meet in person. Using a screen name and an anonymous email address lets you screen potential mates first, and eliminate intolerant fools who would not accept your issues. What you are left with are what sales people call “qualified leads,” people who meet your basic requirements.
5. Widens your net. The internet opens up the whole world to you. For practical reasons, you probably don’t want to cast your net quite that far, but you need not be limited to your own neighborhood or travel circles for meeting people. Maybe your ideal mate is just 20 miles away, but doesn’t go to places where you are likely to meet.
6. Targets your search to those who are available and looking. Do you wonder if someone you notice is approachable or looking for a relationship? How do you find out if someone is in the dating market? Online, you don’t have to wonder. They are declaring themselves as being out there, looking. You get to browse eligible singles. Can someone lie about being available? Sure, but no more than people you meet in-person. This way, you don’t waste time or energy on people who aren’t looking at all.
6 1/2. Get what you are looking for. The search features of internet dating websites allow you to narrow your search to qualities you want in a mate. Looking for a non-smoking, Jewish man in his 50′s? Easy. Most websites let you narrow your search by age, religion, geographic area, presence (or absence) of children and what kind of relationship you are seeking. Are you looking for a serious relationship? You can focus just on those, and eliminate the “advertisers” who are looking for a one-night stand. The internet makes no judgments; it simply matches people with similar goals. You take it from there. As you proceed with emails, you can also screen for your “deal breakers:” those things that you are not willing to accept in a relationship. You get to choose.
Conclusion. These advantages to internet dating are exactly why it has caught on like wildfire and why it is here to stay. There are no guarantees in life or in dating. The internet doesn’t solve all relationship problems or make instant, perfect matches. What is does is open a new universe of possibilities for people seeking companionship and love. Give it a try!
