The Internet has become one of the defining aspects of the world we live in. It helps with everything from booking holidays to ordering shopping. But one of its most revolutionary facets has been the power it has given to social connection. If dating has always been popular, online dating is going through the roof!
Why date online?
A more pertinent question would be why not? By way of comparison, just consider how people used to try and forge relationships. Often a third party was relied upon in order to make the introductions. Blind dates were a possibility, but this really was a journey into the unknown. People set off to rendezvous with complete strangers with nothing other than a vague description and a great deal of faith to cling onto.
Many singletons relied on the tried-and-tested method of social engagement, which invariably meant drinking enough alcohol to gain the Dutch courage necessary to chat up other singletons in a bar or nightclub, surrounded by swarms of similarly-minded single males or females, all clamoring for the best-looking individuals.
Dare to be risqué
While everyone harbours some fantasies, very few people ever have the courage to put these into practice with partners unless they’ve known them some time. Online dating provides the degree of relative anonymity that encourages users to be quite explicit in their chat. While some people will still be quite wary of opening up in this way, many others will relish the prospect of frank discussion.
A key word here is choice. If you decide you don’t like what you’re getting into, at any point all you have to do is close the connection and start chatting to someone else.
Committing? Not immediately!
When a conventional relationship reaches the point that one or other of the parties has had enough, this awkward situation can become prolonged. Neither wants to hurt the other’s feelings. Online dating is far more liberating. You are not committed to anything and can spend as much time as you want flicking through different profiles. This is where the flexibility of online dating really comes into its own.
Become a love guru
Think of the situation you are in once you sign up to a site like www.flirt.com. You’re alone at home, or in some other private place with your smart device. Before you is a screen where you can see any number of very attractive looking people who are all there for one reason: to meet someone just like you. This puts you in an incredible position of power.
Why not take the opportunity to let your hair down? Because you are toying with srangers, you can flex your creative muscles. Obviously it would be detrimental to lie in your profile, but you can certainly stretch the truth. Even if you would be regarded as a quiet individual in the real world, you don’t have to behave that way with the keyboard at your disposal. Why not jump in and begin flirting with some of the people you see arranged before you? You could really develop an edgy new side to your personality, almost as if you were adopting a new persona.
That’s not to say that you should come across as a grossly exaggerated version of yourself, something akin to Jim Carey when he puts on The Mask in that comedy film! It’s merely a case of losing some of your inhibitions.
Love or lust?
Prior to getting into the world of online dating, perhaps you have a fixed idea of exactly what you want to get out of it? This might be searching for a meaningful relationship, or it could be something completely different. Again, the beauty of the situation is that you don’t need to get tied down.
You could join one website offering long-term partnerships. You could try another that is merely throwing together people looking for no-strings casual encounters. Who’s to say you’re wrong wanting to indulge in some one-night stands before settling down and embarking on a more serious quest to find ‘the one?’ Online dating has become so popular for many reasons, but this is certainly one of them. There are no parameters.
