Five ways to make online dating work for you
Get the most out of your online dating profile with these simple tips for making the experience work for you!
Where did you meet your partner? Was it through family and friends? Or, was it through the second most popular way to meet your Mr or Mrs Right these days? Online dating now sits in the number two position behind introductions via family or friends when it comes to meeting new partners, according to dating website, RSVP’s latest Date of the Nation report.
Melanie Dudgeon from RSVP says that while matches and introductions through family and friends is an established social custom that’s been around for centuries, in less than 20 years, online dating has firmly taken root in our society, becoming a modern-day way to meet your ideal partner.
Related link: Read one woman's search for love online
The popularity could be linked to the rise of the internet in our everyday lives, with the report showing that in 2012 online dating was only the fifth most preferred way to meet a person. With more and more Silver Surfers using the internet on an almost daily basis, it’s no surprise online dating websites, like RSVP, have taken off with singles in their 50s and 60s.
Whether you’ve just begun your online dating journey or are contemplating giving it a go, here are five ways to make sure you get the most out of your experience.
Choose the right dating service. Type “online dating” into Google and you’re bound to come up with 129 million results, with many of them links to online dating websites. With so much choice, how do you know which one is right for you? Simple. Choose a dating website that has a special section for singles over 50.
The active Silver Surfers group is one of the fastest growing users of online dating today, and growing! Recognising this, many websites, like RSVP, have special sections for over 50s to make it easier for you to find and meet people who you actually want to meet, rather than singles in their 20s.
Make your own list. While dating websites will match you to the people it believes you will most likely have a connection with, it’s important for you to have your own list of the qualities you’re looking for in a partner. In a previous Date of the Nation report by RSVP, it found that people aged over 50 were mostly looking for a person who could make them laugh. Whatever your criteria, make sure its qualities that appeal to you and no one else.
Thinking about this at the beginning will help you narrow down your search and means you have a clear picture in your mind of what you value most in a person. Having said this, be realistic. If you believe there is a perfect partner out there, you may overlook someone who may turn out to be completely wonderful and well-suited to you.
Take it into the real world. Talking with a person online via a chat room, dating forum, email or Facebook is a great way to get to know them initially, but sooner or later, if you want to get a well-rounded view of that person, you’ll need to have a phone conversation or a coffee catch-up.
Many people do this after getting to know a person for a while online, and in some instances, find the person is not who they pictured in their mind. However, this is part of online dating. Always embrace these opportunities. While the first five, 10 or 20 people may not be your ideal partner, the 21st could be.
Be honest. When writing your online dating profile, it’s easy to want to bend the truth a little and come across in a way that you believe would be more interesting to potential partners. However, the truth always comes out, and you don’t want to attract a person on false pretences.
It won’t make you or the person you meet very happy in the long term. Be truthful to yourself and proud of who you are by creating an online profile that’s as true to the real life person as can be managed. This will set you up for meeting people who are compatible with you.
Stay positive. Don’t let a negative or bad experience make you give up online dating. It can be disappointing if a person who you thought to be an ideal match turns out to be not quite what you expected. Accept that this can happen and get past it.
The best thing to do is to stay positive and to find the next person to strike up a conversation with. Remember, many people talk to and meet up with several people before finding Mr or Mrs Right, so be patient and stick with it. You never know who may be a click away.
Related link: You've signed up for online dating, now what?