A couple of years ago I remember the looks of pity my friend Jennifer would get when she mentioned she'd been trying an online dating site. I must admit, at the time, I thought she must be desperate; couldn't she meet anyone in 'real' life? Didn't she meet people at work, or at parties?
I judged her actions and concluded that she must be either a bit weird or socially inept. Of course, you know I wouldn't be writing about this if she had never met anyone! Sure enough, she met a guy online and fell in love. He didn't live in Bahrain either, he lived in her town!
Just one experience like this in your own circle of friends can make you reconsider your rushed judgments. So, could online dating prove to be a mainstream way of meeting people, or would it remain in the margins of society? Is it humiliating to look for people online?
Well, let's say you're busy all day at work (nobody eligible there), you go out a couple of times a week with your usual group of friends (been there, dated them), and the rest of the time you're washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning your home (or more likely a combination of Facebook, TV and surfing the net); realistically, how many new people are you likely to meet?
Even if you managed to date, or even chat beyond pleasantries with, one new person a week, how many of them are likely to strike up any kind of connection with? Maybe one in a hundred, and that's if you're lucky. At that rate, it would take you two years to even meet someone you could fall for. Not bad, but, in the meantime, you've spent two years alone!
So, what if you want to speed up the process? You do the logical thing and search a database of millions of people on a dating site. You use the Internet to keep in touch with your friends, and for buying things, so why not for dating also?
Is sending someone a message any less 'real' than saying it directly to them? Be honest, do you message people on Facebook that you haven't seen since your school days? Be even more honest, aren't messages and emails preferable when you're feeling a little nervous or anxious.
Chatting to someone new that you like the look is far from being easy! Opening communication is way easier online. No more stuttered introductions or lame chat-up lines. You get to think through what you say and how you're coming across.
In conclusion, a long time ago, online dating seemed to me to be an absolute non-option. Now, I'm convinced that it's surely the best place starting place for finding a partner. Let's say you communicate with ten new people per week through an online dating site, even if only one of those turns out to be eligible, you've increased your chances of meeting someone by 1000% over the natural method I mentioned earlier! You can't argue with that!
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