Does online dating work?
If yes, what sites should I check out?
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My online dating experience ended in me filing a Peace Bond, 4 tires on my vehicle being slashed, falsified pregnancy (she was lieing), lawsuit over a rental property (I won).
Other than that it’s great…
I worked for a few years as a developer at a company that had some very successful dating sites. We honestly had a tons of people writing us to tell us how well everything worked out for them and how happy they were. Judging by the revenue alone (from monthly memberships), I’d say that a lot of people believe in it.
On the other hand, we’re not likely to get emails from people when things go wrong. Also, most of the emails we received were from people who actually hadn’t been dating very long and, in some cases, got married within a few months of having met (read: still in the honeymoon stage of the relationship). So I can’t vouch for the longevity of these relationships.
I know for a fact that a lot of people use online dating as a means for casual sex. If that’s what you’re looking for you shouldn’t have much trouble.
Ultimately dating is dating no matter how you meet the person initially. If online dating opens up the possibilities for you I don’t see how it could do any harm. Unless of course… well, see glial’s response :) Don’t forget, though, that this could happen in an “offline” dating situation too. Crazies are crazies no matter where you meet them.
If you do decide to do it, I would suggest signing up at multiple sites. Users are very fickle on dating sites and will only spend a few months on average with one before moving on to another never to return to previous stomping grounds. Signing up on many concurrently will probably get you more “coverage”.
I think it works best for young professionals. I started at age 41 and most men wouldn’t respond to me assuming I was unattractive. When they did pursue, the sexual innuendos came into play immediately, before I’d even seen them in person. ( If you’re not truly funny and experienced with that, don’t bother! YAWN.) The few men I’ve actually met, sadly misrepresented themselves with a photo taken years prior. Even so, I did experience two interesting very long friendships, both of them being much younger than me. The older men have been jaded and angry, which is great to find out in e-mail before you decide to meet. All in all it’s the same as meeting people in daily life, if you don’t drag out the initial encounter where you can have that emotional reaction to them. The most pathetic was the guy whose GF had just dumped him. He jumped the gun on that one, meeting me for lunch with tears in his eyes. Bummer! I suggest being very honest and pay attention to what people tell you. Do ask questions without hesitation. Married people infiltrate without disclosure. Don’t waste too much time on e-mail, and write them off quickly if they hedge.
It was Yahoo Personals, by the way. It lasted a year, just got very ugly at the end.
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