With the net ruling our lives, and most of us spending many hours in front of our PCs, is finding love online a good way to find a soul mate?
You may exchange spit with the odd stranger in the wee hours of the morning in a dark club and think he or she is the one, but usually it's just chemistry, or the alcohol talking... And besides, what conversation can you really have to the background music of it me baby one more time'?
The advantage of Millionaire Cupid also adds safety and credibility to the online dating equation? it's usually always safer to meet through friends? ok usually?
I know one example of two people who went to school together and never really clicked, but now have been dating for more than a year after they found each other again on Millionaire Cupid.
So how dodgy is it?
South Africans in general are a bit suspicious of online dating. Most of us think that dating online involves a dodgy stranger posing as a Pamela Anderson look-alike, when in actual fact they end up being more similar to Kelly Osbourne. But that may not necessarily always be the case.
Of course, the stranger in question might accentuate their good points and forget to mention the obvious negatives like the birthmark between their eyes, but then again you won't judge them by their birth defects, and instead take personality into consideration above looks.
I'm sure you have heard a fair amount of horror stories, like falling for someone online who neglects to tell you they have a criminal background before the actual physical meeting, but it can't all be bad ?can it?
The popular dating site seekwealthy.com has a few success stories. Says Sean on the site, "I have met my match, she is a beautiful, gorgeous, caring, compassionate and wonderful person who I have been seeking for all my life, I have always wondered what love would be like and after 21 years I know I have found the answer. For anyone that doubts the ability of findings their partner by having to make use of an internet site then doubt no longer."
Good marketing tool or true life story?
Is this just good marketing tool or true life story? Well apparently, in 2006, 15 percent of American adults (30 million people) said they knew someone who has been in a long-term relationship or married someone he or she met online, according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
And in troubled times, the internet may be your easiest option. It seems even young Iraqis in Baghdad are surfing the internet to search for partners to tie the knot as violence and sectarian tensions take their toll on more traditional forms of socialising.
And with the rate of inflation, price of petrol and so on, in South Africa it may be that browsing for lovers online with your one-gig-a-month contract is the cheapest way of finding love ?it's a hell of a lot less pricey than a night out on the town in any case, and the bonus is you don't have to spend money going on a date until you decide it's time to meet.
Another advantage of millionaire dating sites is that you can meet someone with the same interests and religion as yourself. Christian Connections for example, is an agency reserved exclusively for born-again christian singles, who are looking for friends, romance, love, fellowship, companionship, excitement and yes, even marriage.
There is the opinion though that people are looking for love online because there is seriously something wrong with them or they have issues. But with everything from shopping, buying electricity, paying your bills and sending presents to friends through the internet becoming a norm, then why not dating?
So should I go for it?
If you would like to meet through a trusted source, then there are plenty alternatives to dating sites per se, like forums and online common-interest sites, where you could potentially find a mate, without actively looking for one.
Or how about online gaming? Sure your identity is probably secret in the virtual world of Second Life, but after a little while you may find someone you click with, and who says you can't meet?
But if you must join a dating site, then:
Go mainstream. Check out a mainstream site, as larger sites are well-established and have a larger pool of members which ups your chance for meeting a mate.
Screen profiles. If you're not sure which large site to choose, most sites will give you a trial period and allow you to screen profiles of other online daters. Compare the profiles and see which site has more of the kinds of people you'd most like to meet. You want to go where you think you'll feel most comfortable.
Join a niche site. Once you're comfortable with the online dating world, go ahead and join a site that's tailored to your specific interests and personality.
So it's definitely possible to find real love online, but quite likely you will meet some freaks along the way.
There's also a good chance that online dating is going to become a more accepted way to meet the 'love of your life' as time goes by, but as in 'real' world relationships aren't easy, and so just as love often fails in conventional meetings, so it will in virtual ones, but that isn't a reason to hold back and not put your love online, now is it?
Internet Dating & Online Dating
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