What do you think of online dating?

Does it really work? I understand that sometimes you have a busy schedule or you want to expand outside of your social circle. But in a way, it's still like finding a needle in a haystack. Only the haystack is bigger! I miss the old days when you actually had to get to know people in person and ask them out. Nowadays, it's all about "friending" someone or "poking" them.

I have heard of many people who have found signicant others through online dating. I guess it's the wave of the future. Our lifestyles have changed so much because of the advances in technology. Many teenagers are now more comfortable texting their boy/girlfriends than talking to them on the phone. I do believe online dating has possibilities, but there are a lot of risks. It would be very easy for someone to misrepresent him/herself through the airwaves. The person you fall for over the Internet might not be the person you see when you finally meet face to face.

My uncle met his wife online. I remember a time when people who go online to find dates are considered pathetic because they cannot find a real person off line but now it seems that a lot of people are finding their mate online. I met my husband at my sister's wedding. I think that was the way people used to meet in my time. Nowadays, everything has gone online. Who knows maybe in future making a baby will be done online! LOL

I am little bit skeptical on this subject ... Don't throw with rocks on my, but I think everybody who is online on thos dating websites (under 40's), something's wrong with them.

I think there's alot of good people on dating sites but also a lot of shady types. I suppose it mirrors real life in that way! I wouldn't feel comfortable on dating sites myself, I prefer to press the flesh as it were.

I don't really like online dating sites because I just find it a little weird to go on a date with someone I had never seen, but I'd be alright with dating someone I knew from Facebook or something. I first would like chatting, exchanging pictures, information, etc. - you never know who is behind a computer screen.

*Shrugs* In that sense of having "not seen them," I see it similar to a blind date. Most people do chat, exchange pictures, etc, before they ever meet up, so in a way, it can be a lot better than having met someone in a bar one night and then sitting through an awkward date when it turns out you two aren't clicking.

I would never use one as I am happily single. The problem I can see with them is you have a much greater chance of meeting someone outside of your locale which, if you want something long term, will mean someone relocating. I could envisage this causing a lit of problems if it hasn't been thought through properly.

There is nothing wrong with online dating if you can feel that person is willing to meet you personally. But then, there are a lot of fake ones on the web. There are successful couples who met online and ended into marriage. But it needs a lot of trust, effort and constant communication from both.

Truly it is not that different from the 1800's when mail order brides were popular. The dating sites do a lot of investigating for the people to match up similar interests and pair up the ones most alike. I married a man from an online dating network. I was ready for a second marriage and he was not honest about his 5 marriages prior to ours. He needed to do some back yard clean up work, but went right into a relationship from one 2 months prior to meeting me. I had 10 years under my belt. This should tell you we were not similar at all. It should have told me too, however he was a man of my dreams. My word here is caution to those dating online. Do your solid thinking when the person is not around. Think with your head and leave your heart out of the thinking.

Online dating is now a trend and it would be getting more and more users in the coming years. of course, there is no such thing that can work for all people. It is just like Facebook which have millions and millions of members but there are those who are not in Facebook because they are not finding use for the social site. Online dating is just like that and with niche-focused sites around they are making sure that they are also servicing small markets.

I personally don't believe in online dating. I have several friends that joined popular dating sites and paid nice amounts of money to view their 'scientific matches' who really turned out to be nightmares. People are dishonest, plain fact. Not all people and not all of the time, but they are dishonest. You can join a dating site and say anything, doesn't mean that they're telling the truth. So the dating service just 'matched' you to the figment of someone else's imagination. "I'm Joe/Joanna and I love kids and long drives." might be translated as "I have 9 kids and used to be a getaway driver." It's fine for some, but me personally? I'll stick to good old traditional hog-tying and making them buy me dinner.

While I believe that online dating can help many people, it is also true that it can be a medium for deception and that is one of the negative features of the online world. I would say it again that just like in the offline world, there is no guarantee whatsoever that you are dealt with the truth and that you can connect with someone that is meant for you. We just have to be so careful and should verify things. Never rush on anything when you are online. Of course, personally I also don't see a point paying a premium membership fees for any online dating site -- just a waste of money when there are so many free sites around.

Personally, I have nothing against online dating. I don't mock those that do it nor have anything bad to say about them in any way or form.

But with that said, I really don't believe in it much. It's hard enough to have faith and trust in someone being/saying they are who they say they are in real life. So that is just magnified tenfold when you're talking about an online entity you don't even know the appearance of.

Well, online dating is okay I guess. It is just that there are really a lot of people now in the world that technology has to step up and help people get intimacy on people that they are interested on but be warned that not all online dating sites are authentic. This is just the bad side of online dating. You can never really tell if that person is actually the person you are dating unless they have a webcam to show you themselves. I personally don't trust screenshots or picture shots because usually they just cut and paste it from other people. Choose a good site that has lots of legit users. I'm okay with online dating and traditional dating or to both of its nature.

I´m a bit more conservative in this aspect, not strict though. While I really like making and meeting new online friends I still find dating to be better with someone you actually know or have seen at least once in your life. However, virtual relationships are more common everyday and people seem to take the risk and actually find good, trustworthy people. Still, those other scary cases where the person behind the screen is a criminal makes me prefer dating someone from the offline world!

I am not in favor of online dating. There's so much life outside the Internet! Personally speaking, online dating is such a waste of time. For all you know, you're just being told lies by the person and he/she is just masking his/her true personality with another person's information. It is still best to go out, meet people in person and date than waste the time in virtual relationships.

I have to say that I tried it once and I got burned: it was a total disaster. The guy was nothing like I thought he'd be. He was not the guy in the picture he sent me, he was older, he had 2 kids and many more things I just don't want to remember.

I have a friend who met her boyfriend by an online dating service. They met about 3 years ago and have a strong relationship. They are very happy together. It took her quite a long time to find the person that she felt was right for her, but you will find that is the same no matter how you meet someone. I would say that it has its pros and cons. If it works for you, I would say that you should go for it.

On the other hand, my brother met his first girlfriend through a newspaper add, they've been together for 15 years and they have a beautiful 10 years old girl, it's kind of the same thing... U really don't know much about the person you're going to meet. So I think it can work for some lucky people.