(ThyBlackMan.com) Singles in your area, ready to meet you. Seen that before? Well, it’s kind of true since 11 percent of singles are using online dating right now.
Whether you’re young and looking to meet someone new or you’re diving into the dating pool for the first time in a while, online dating is the norm nowadays. From Tinder to Bumble, there are enough options to keep you swiping all day.
Is online dating right for you? Keep reading to find out.
Online Dating and You
Even if you’ve never tried online dating, you’re probably a little familiar with it. You may have heard some stories of people meeting. You may have even heard of a few strange online dating stories.
Regardless, if you’re single and ready to mingle, it’s pretty tempting now to download an app or two and give it a try. Let’s take a look at why it may or not be perfect for you.
Why Swipe Right
Swiping right is the universal slang for wanting to meet someone or at least being interested in them. Tinder popularized the term with their mechanic of both parties needing to swipe right to initiate a conversation.
Going through simple profiles of people including a few pictures and a short bio, you decide based on just a little bit of information on whether or not you want to talk to them.
Do you find a person that appeals to you? Swipe right and hope that they do when they come across you. If so, then it’s time to start flirting with your phone’s keyboard.
Here are a few reasons why online dating actually works.
1. Plenty of Fish
Yes, Plenty of Fish is a dating service aimed at single Christians, but it’s also slang for their being plenty of singles out there waiting for you to meet them, and that is certainly the case.
If you’re busy, perhaps you work a lot or you’re in school for something like pharmacy tech training, you know it can be hard to meet new people. Dating apps make it easy to meet people even just during a 15-minute break.
With millions of people trying online dating, the odds of there being someone you’re compatible with on one of the apps is pretty decent. Whether you find the love of your life or not isn’t a guarantee, but you definitely won’t if you don’t try.
2. Whatever Your Preference
There are general apps that show you a pool of people looking to date in your general area. You can set distance limits and see everyone, but there are also apps that cater to specific preferences and personalities.
If you’re older, you may enjoy apps that cater to certain ages. If you’re all about women taking the lead, you may enjoy Bumble which only allows women to initiate, cutting down on less than polite behavior from some men.
There are even dating apps that are all about farmers meeting each other. Odds are good that there’s a dating app for you.
Gender, sexuality, age, religion, it’s all covered. Some may enjoy the guesswork that comes with traditional dating, but online dating sites and apps are certainly efficient.
3. Shy Singles
It can be hard to talk to someone that you’re attracted to if you don’t really know them yet. Even for experienced daters, that first conversation can be extremely tough.
Dating sites and apps provide a helping hand for even the shyest person out there.
One thing that the vast majority of dating services offer is a text-based conversation before you meet in-person. The two of you can spend as long as you want, chatting in a neutral virtual room from the safety of your own house.
Getting those initial butterflies and jitters out of the way can make for a much more successful first date.
Why Swipe Left
Swiping left means you’re not really interested. Some people are very picky and find themselves swiping left way more than right, others play a numbers game and swipe right almost every time.
Regardless, you’ve got to hope that person you’re interested in swipes the same way you do. Here are some reasons why online dating may not be for you.
1. Little White Lies
People can get pretty creative on the internet. A few pictures of a stranger found on the internet along with a carefully worded bio can make someone appear to be something they definitely aren’t.
Catfishing is a term you may have heard before and it is, unfortunately, a real thing. You have to be cautious that the person you’re talking to is legitimate.
2. How Did You Meet?
Even with the popularity, there’s still a stigma with online dating. Now, for some people that’s not a big deal, they don’t care, but if you think you’d feel embarrassed about the origins of your relationship, maybe stick to traditional dating methods.
This stigma is decreasing over time. Meeting online isn’t considered strange at all to younger generations. The best advice is to forget about what other people think and go out and be romantic.
3. Don’t Judge a Book
Yes, you can write a short bio about yourself, but most of the deciding is based on the pictures alone. This presents more than a few problems.
If you worry that you’re not as attractive as others, you may be scared away or worry that people won’t swipe for you. Alternatively, you may choose not to pick someone based on their picture even though they could have been your soulmate.
Appearances matter in real-world dating too of course, but it’s harder to prove to someone that you’ve got an amazing personality if you never get to talk to them.
Let’s Meet
Online dating isn’t going anywhere. As long as people are safe and polite, it’s a great way to meet people if you can deal with the negative factors as well.
The best part is that there’s no harm in trying as long as you go in with an open mind. Always meet for the first time in a public place and never give out personal information such as your address until you’ve had time to figure out who they are as a person.
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Staff Writer; George Martin