Online Dating
You live and you learn right? There are some important lessons to be learned in dating, romance, relationships and even online dating. This is not an article meant to criticize online dating or "sell it." This is simply a realistic look on online dating and what first timers should expect from the experience. Here are five lessons that many web users eventually learn.
1. You approach a new person carefully.
If you're chatting with somebody for the first time, proceed carefully. Behave like a normal person and save all your disturbing conversations and extra bawdy jokes for later on in the relationship. It's easy to scare a person away on the Internet. In the beginning of the cyber-relationship, you want to establish trust and a comfortable feeling, just as you would approach a new love interest in real life.
2. You avoid boring your cyber-date with painful lessons about the past.
Sure, your new love interest will be curious in learning about who you are and where you have been. However, resist the temptation to drone on and on about how your ex broke your heart and how you can never forgive him/her. This is just going to scare your new love interest away or bore them into disinterest. The more you talk about someone else, the less interested you seem in your date!
3. Be yourself and be fun.
Cyber-relationships are built on having online fun. Don't fall into the trap of becoming too nice of a guy, or too respectable of a gentleman (or in the ladies' case, too much of an uptight prune). Sarcasm does translate well online, so don't be afraid to share your unique sense of humor or to flirt with somebody you really like. Don't over-rehearse to the point that you start to sound like you're on a job interview. You're looking for romance...lose the tie!
4. Be honest about who you are and what you want.
Meeting someone in person may be very different from meeting someone online. When we meet somebody online, we tend to idolize this person, building up a perfect image of them in our mind. This is why it's important to be honest about who you are and then find out who your love interest really is. You should both exchange pictures (real ones, that show you doing every day things as opposed to glamour shots) and if possible see the other person on webcam.
5. Talk on the phone as much as possible.
This is the best way to really get to know and love a person's personality. Voice is so much more powerful than text. Besides, what if you lose your Internet connection? Better to have loved and phoned than to only have loved via AIM instant messenger...
