We are living in a digital age. Modern people have access to completely new, fast, and convenient ways of communication – instant messengers, video calls, social networks, and others. Online dating has become quite common in developed countries. Resources such as Tinder and eHarmony regularly report that millions of couples, who are unlikely to meet in real life, have met thanks to them.
Interestingly, in 2005 during survey researchers found out that only 44% of respondents recognized the Internet as a good place to meet. In 2013 60% of respondents agreed with this. And today it is almost unreal to meet a person of a young or middle age who never tried to date online.
Today we want to talk about what to look for when dating online. The information will be useful for those who are looking for a date for the first time as well as for those who have tried but failed to achieve results.
Dating formats and their specifics
The Internet offers a variety of ways to communicate with people. And there are many search formats for new acquaintances including the ones specially designed for these purposes. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
1. Dating websites and applications. If you are seriously thinking of finding a mate for a relationship, this is the best option. As a rule, you need to fill out a questionnaire and tell about yourself. You can view other people’s profiles, study photos, and chat with users you like. On some websites features are limited until you get paid access.
While using dating websites and applications, pay attention to profiles, make sure they are not fake. The more information, the better. Education, career, hobbies – all of this is important. But remember that more than 60% of people do not write the truth about themselves.
2. Social networks. We believe that everything is clear here. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world use social networks. It is convenient to meet and socialize, make new friends and seek your love. You can start the search in the public places you are interested in, among the friends of your friends, or through the search. Fortunately, there is an opportunity to set very specific settings: gender, age, interests, place of residence and others. Thus, it’s easier to find people who are right for you. But make sure that your account looks attractive to people – add a photo, information about yourself and more. Otherwise, you are unlikely to attract anyone’s attention and make friends.
3. Video chats. Video chat roulette allows you to instantly connect to a random user and immediately start communicating with him or her. Some webchat roulettes make it possible to specify the gender or geolocation of the interlocutor so that the system selects only those who fit the parameters. An important advantage of this format is the ability to immediately start a conversation with an interesting person and in the future to meet that person face-to-face. The main thing is to continue communication so that you can exchange contact information with each other. After all, the chance that the system will reconnect you with the same user is extremely small.
When chatting online in chat roulette, your appearance, ability to speak and keep a conversation going play a major role. If you manage to interest a person on the other side of the screen, you have every chance to meet him or her in real life.
Whatever method of communication you choose, dating on the Internet should be approached with responsibility and caution. In social networks, webchat roulettes and websites/applications, there have always been and still are many scammers and dubious people.
Rules of behavior when dating on the Internet and things that shall alert you
In fact, it is difficult to identify the factors due to which it is better to stop the conversation immediately. After all, all people are different as well as their manner of communicating. Nevertheless, we want to draw your attention to some specifics. Be careful if you notice some of the following peculiarities:
- The desire to leave the dating website as soon as possible and transfer communication to another platform. For example, to social networks or email. Take your time to think whether you shall agree or not. Also, make sure that you do not insist on anything like that during the first minutes of your conversation.
- A person has been registered on the website for several years but is still active. Therefore, the question arises: why hasn’t he or she found a mate yet? Probably their goals are completely different. Or maybe he/she is married and just looking for new experiences.
- You shall be cautious when a person tells you that they love you after several days of dating. Enthusiastic letters, compliments and romantic words may well be intoxicating. But keep cool! Love at first sight is a very controversial thing. Especially on the Internet. Beautiful words may be bait for somebody’s selfish goals.
- The interlocutor claims that he lives abroad or is a citizen of another country. Moreover, he makes a special emphasis on this. This is a popular way to lure unsuspecting online video chat roulette users. Again, the goals can be very different.
- A person says that he will visit you, but at the last moment, under various pretexts, postpones the trip due to the problems with money, a sick relative, or something similar. Most likely, he will soon ask you for money.
By the way, you can create a fake account and chat with the same person on behalf of someone else. You may learn a lot for yourself. Yes, this is frowned upon by dating websites and social networks, but it may be useful.
If you notice at least one of these specifics in your communication, do not rush to continue it. Do not send money to anyone and do not agree to a personal meeting after a couple of conversations. To ensure that the interlocutor does not have suspicions about you, do not behave the ways we have described. Be open and honest, fill out a questionnaire if the resource asks you to do that, and don’t engage in fraud or dishonesty. If you are looking for someone for a serious relationship, starting with a lie is definitely not a way to go.
