My year of online dating was one of the most exciting years of my life. I met some amazing people, some of whom I will always be in contact with and I learned a lot about myself. I only wish I had a bit more knowledge on how to make things easier for myself when I first joined an online dating site. I would have saved myself a lot of dud dates and wasted time.
- Be Honest – On my first dating profile I felt the real me wasn’t good enough. I told some white lies. I fibbed about my age, my bra size, my dress size and omitted some of my interests that I thought wouldn’t be appealing. The trouble is this meant I was connecting with the wrong people. People who met me were expecting someone else. This meant hours spent preening myself before dates, to the point where I had to take time of work. I needed to straighten my hair, pad my bra, choose a slimming outfit, apply a ton of anti ageing make up. Then in the restaurant I had to tell my date I was vegan and deal with their whining. If I had just been honest in the start I would have met other people with the same interests and they would have been less superficial. The people I met when I was honest are the ones I am proud to call my friends now.
- Read Profiles Thoroughly – It’s worth taking the time to make sure the people you are sending flirts to and messaging are really your type. Don’t just judge people by their profile pictures. Yes you have to be attracted to someone for a relationship to work, but you also have to have things in common. If you don’t like children there’s not much point dating someone with 5 kids. If you want children, why would you bother messaging someone who hates them.
- Get Out Clause – For your own safety and to save you from intense boredom make sure you have a friend to help you out on your first date. Whether it is a call half way through the date to see how things are going or someone actually in the restaurant to keep an eye on things. My friend Melissa usually goes on a date with her boyfriend in the same restaurant on my first dates and if things are going wrong I stretch my arms above my head and she will give me a fake emergency call.
- Use a Paid Dating Site – Things took a turn for the better for me as soon as joined a paid dating site. People on these sites are serious about meeting someone online and won’t waste your time. There are also less of those irritating adverts and a lot more features to use to flirt with someone. If you are a woman on a free dating site most of the messages you will receive will be close up photos of mens’ genitals and no one wants that!
With a little effort online dating really can be a pleasurable experience. Good Luck!
