[SISI WENDY] How good is online dating?

A lot of people have their perceptions and opinions regarding online dating. Love survivor, Mo, in the new movie, ‘When Love Happens’, warned that “never date anyone you haven’t seen before”. Regardless of the fact that online dating involves meeting up with people you haven’t seen before, the inception of social media has made everything surface level. However, this doesn’t remove the dangers of it as well.

Pros. Online dating has it advantages and success stories – a lot of it. However, the initial perception might undermine or diminish this point. Truth is, with the inception of social media, most of these doubts have been rectified, or rather, the possibility of rectifying them has been increased. You can now view pictures of this person via their social platforms.

Even if the display pictures are entirely perfect, their numerous Facebook unedited photos taken by other people that are equally posted online are displayed for all to see. So the singular ones placed on the dating platform won’t mislead you like the man who sued a woman he met online for such hoax pictures of her, which didn’t look like her in real life. Such events can be avoided if you do proper online research.

It isn’t exactly stalking if you type the name of your interest in the search engine to check if they have a history of serial killing or rape. Search platforms such as Google and the likes have reduced the rate of falling victims to such. I’ve heard a lot of success stories from couples that met via online dating. A particular one met via twitter ─ she out of frustrations from failed relationships, he just a user. They met up and after one meeting, they knew they were going to end up together. Today, they are happily married. So, yes online dating can be good on some circumstances.

Cons. As much as we want to get excited about the fact that meeting our better half online is getting more possible than before, a little hesitation is useful ─ in terms of throwing all guards into the wind and plunging deep. As much as it is on the minimal now, there are still a lot of hoaxes, serial rapists and killers out there in disguise, all waiting for the vulnerable and desperate.

A lot of people who post things online aren’t what they seem. So one must be extremely careful. Hackers are more active out there and all they want is to destroy your reputation. Also out, there are a lot of hurt people who haven’t totally healed and would do extreme things to new partners in vengeance of what their previous partners put them through.

Yes, a lot of people are out there for revenge not necessarily for dating and social media has made it all too easy.

Precautions. Be encouraged to spread your wings and open up to online friendship and dating. However, make sure that when you do, meet in public places for your first time and until you are able to trust each other. Keep the relationship on a platonic level and don’t give a lot of information on-the-go as well. Introduce your friends to each other and ask a lot of questions, but not prying ones to drive the other party away.

Always be on the look-out but not like someone expecting something bad to happen. Do a lot of activities common and non-common to you both. Once you notice weird characters and attitude such as pressure or intense persuasion, make sure to limit contact or physical interactions.

Online dating is worth the try; all you have to do is be careful.