Finding Love on the Internet
It's fascinating how people now use the internet to find love and kick-start a new romantic relationship. With the growing number of dating sites and social networks, online dating has become a common trend for young and old individuals who may be unable to find love offline to research and get connected with prospective partners through the web. Statistics report that over 8,000 online dating platforms exist worldwide, and an estimated 300 million people use online dating services globally to meet new people online.
Finding love on the internet seems much more straightforward than offline because of the ease of browsing through dating sites and matching profiles with the specifications you're looking for in a partner. While online dating has advantages, it also comes with disadvantages that anyone looking to start a search for love online must be aware of.
What are the Demerits of Finding Love Online?
One major disadvantage of finding love through the internet is the possibility of online dating scams, otherwise known as romance fraud. An online dating scam is a situation where criminals take on a fake online persona on dating sites or social networks and lure their victims into a romantic relationship to defraud them. In modern terminology, this is called 'catfishing'.
Searching for love online may be challenging to decipher if the person of interest is honest with you and if the image they create online is the same as their reality. As a result, some people become deeply invested in online relationships and later discover that they've been living a lie.
Finding love online may feel artificial because you could never come into direct contact with your love interest. So, you only have an idea of who you're dating. When searching for a love interest online, you'll often converse with people you consider a match which could feel like a loop of repeated interviews for the same position. That natural chemistry that comes from a first date may be absent.
Even when it is present, you may discover that your conversations weren't authentic - probably because of differences in culture, beliefs and a lack of understanding of the other person's mannerisms.
The Merits of Finding Love Online
Although finding love online may have downsides, it is not void of benefits. Many people have been able to find their partners online and build beautiful relationships and families. Online dating allows people to have relationships beyond the shores of their locations and find true love in distant places, which would have been impossible through offline methods.
Finding love online is a suitable alternative for people who are introverted or too busy to search for love offline. Most dating platforms are designed to make love search easy and less time-consuming while creating a comfortable atmosphere to start a conversation with a stranger.
Unlike the real world, where one person may do the chase while the other person may feign uninterest, there's often a balance between the effort because both parties are aware that they are on online dating sites for the same reason, which makes the approach easier.
Just Before You Dash Out, Read This…
These benefits come with some disadvantages that you must be aware of so that you don't fall prey to catfishing. Love is beautiful, and the internet has made it easier to find people who may fit into our description of a perfect partner, from our own home.
As you start your love search, look for signs to help you spot them and be aware to avoid situations that may put you in difficult positions.
