Online Dating – Pros, Cons & Safety Tips

Dating is pretty much the stage in any romantic relationship where two people have a social encounter with the sole purpose of assessing whether or not the other person is suitable as an intimate partner for a future relationship. It usually entails activities done together in a bid to have fun and develop an emotional or physical connection.

Dating – Then and Now

Dating before the advent of technology was quite basic, with one person approaching the other and trying to get a date. Despite how fun it was, people had to deal with the rejection that arises from being turned down by the person they are trying to get a date with.

Online dating sites have simplified things, with each person creating an account, filling a profile with basic information like name, age, occupation, hobbies, etc. When online dating was invented, the usual norm was to chat up a person you find attractive and wait for their reply, but that was not so effective, which is why most online dating services have this feature where you swipe to one side if you like a person and vice versa. Once two people swipe in the same direction, they are both alerted and can begin conversations.

Cons of Online Dating

Despite its effectiveness in getting people together, it has not been without its downsides. Two major ones are:

• Romance scammers: These are people who create phony accounts, using other people’s pictures and details. They then target vulnerable people looking for love and extort them using several tricks like lying about their location to avoid video chats, faking a family emergency or problems that require money, amongst others.

• Predators: Unfortunately, there are a lot of crazy people using online dating sites. Most of them create profiles and chat with someone that fits their form of victim, use the profile to determine their address, and chat them up to know when to attack.

These and several more like sextortion and robbery are the pitfalls that come with engaging in online dating, luckily, there are ways to protect yourself while making use of online dating sites.

Safety Measures while Dating Online

How people can ensure their safety while online dating

• Never send money or gifts to anyone you have not met in person or verified their identity via video chats
• Always try to do a simple light search regarding the person you’re communicating with to try to have an idea regarding what they’re like.
• In the bid to find things in common with the other person, try to restrict the level to which you share private information with the person while on the first dates.
• Before engaging in a video chat with the other person, protect yourself by using a VPN to hide your IP address and data connection to avoid being tracked.

Conclusion

There are problems associated with engaging in online dating, but there are also upsides; which is why you should remember to stay protected against scammers and predators while using online dating while you try to search for love.