In a world where career expectations and comparable societal pressures weigh heavy on our time, it's little wonder that single people are increasingly turning towards the internet to find love.
So is this the only reason why more and more people are logging onto dating sites? Is online dating the ultimate solution for the average single person on the street? Let's find out...
Pump up the volume
One of the benefits of online dating is the sheer volume of people you can meet. Popular sites often have millions of members - more people than you could ever possibly meet offline in an entire lifetime of dating!
No pressure
There are few people who don't get nervous at the prospect of approaching someone who they would like to get to know better. The advantage of online dating in this respect is that it's completely different to approaching someone in a bar/club setting because you don't have the pressure of the face-to-face encounter as a starting point. With online dating, you can search for potential suitors from the comfort of your own armchair and send them a message to introduce yourself, rather than fretting over eye contact, body language or the ultimate discourager - the risk of face-to-face rejection. Instead, you can simply relax and let your fingers do the work!
Meeting like-minded singles
In an offline situation, it's hard to know whether or not the person who has caught your eye is in fact single. This can make it even harder to pluck up the courage to approach someone for fear that their other half will appear without warning! With online dating, you can feel more confident that the people you are contacting are single. A good site will help ensure this as far as possible by carrying out checks on members when they join the site.
Self-regulation
One of the main benefits of online dating is the fact that it is self-regulating. Members will be able to report anyone who they have met through the site if they think the person isn't a genuine dater. This is very different to face-to-face dating situations, where it is unlikely that anyone will be able to vouch for the person you're speaking to, unless they happen to be surrounded by people they've dated before!
Narrowing down your search
Many online dating sites will allow you to search for members using certain criteria, such as location, age, whether members are smokers or non-smokers, and so on. In this way you will be able to narrow down your search to find exactly the type of person you would wish to date. This is in direct contrast to the face-to-face situation where you won't necessarily know these things about the person you're talking to until later in the conversation, when you may discover you're not suited, but not know how to walk away without seeming impolite
Selective filtering
Once you have found several members of a dating site who take your fancy, you will then be able to personally filter down your choices by emailing the members and getting to know them better before arranging any first dates. This is advantageous because it means that, by the time you do meet someone you've met through an online dating site, you will have already become acquainted via email and probably over the phone too. Therefore, any first dates are unlikely to be as unpredictable as those arranged without prior contact.
Time saver
Due to the fact that internet dating can allow you to narrow down your search for your perfect partner, you will automatically save time when carrying out your search compared to the time you could spend trawling the local bars/clubs! Since you can also search for love from the comfort of your own home, you will save even more time because you won't be travelling anywhere to meet people, or spending time getting ready to go out or choosing what to wear, and so on. That is why online dating is ideal for those with busy lifestyles because they can save time left, right and centre!
Money matters
Although some dating sites can seem expensive to join on the face of it, they can actually save you a lot of money. Imagine how much money you'd spend on an average night out - drinks to buy, club entrance fee to pay, taxi fares, possibly a hotel bill, buying new clothes to wear, and so on. The cumulative price of all these things for a single night out can often exceed the cost of a six-month membership on a reputable dating site! Let's look at an example: if six month's membership of an online dating site costs £60, this works out at approximately £2.50 per week. When you look at it from this perspective, becoming a member of an online dating site is great value for money.
Online dating Vs offline dating agencies
In comparison to the cost of offline dating agencies, where the agency arranges face-to-face introductions, the membership fee of online dating is infinitesimal. Offline dating agencies can charge hundreds of pounds, and once the matching process begins, there will often be a lot less members to choose from in comparison to online dating sites. Of course, the great thing about internet dating is the fact that you can manage your own membership and match yourself to other people as opposed to having someone else making all of your dating choices for you in accordance with certain company guidelines, e.g. one match per month.
Free sample
Many reputable dating sites will allow you to browse a selection of its members for free so that you can decide whether or not the service on offer appeals to you. In this way you can sample the service without feeling obligated to pay membership fees from day one.
Security
One of the main advantages of using a reputable online dating service is the inherent security. You will know that your personal details are kept private when you start messaging members unless you actively choose to disclose personal data. This means that you can allow the dating process to progress as quickly or slowly as you wish. This is very different to face-to-face encounters where you may feel pressured to give someone your phone number after a single meeting, or fear asking for their number just in case they refuse to disclose it, or regret not giving someone your number because you don't see them again. With online dating, you can email people for as long as you want until you feel ready to give out any personal contact information.
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