Online dating. Does it work? It certainly can do, and here are some listed tips for increasing your odds of finding someone it will work with — as well as things that should be avoided if at all possible.
Less Chance of Success
1. Choosing someone in a foreign country.
Oh, you’ll get lots of emails and winks from these people, but they are typically the sort of people who cannot commit and have sought you out because you’re “safe”. And you are; you can’t really commit to someone you’ve never met in person! Short meaningful video call random days are good for developing communication though.
2. Choosing someone who is married or separated
In some countries, couples have to go through an obligatory separation period of as long as two years before they can be legally divorced. Whilst I feel bad for these people, I highly, highly recommend avoiding them as they don’t have their own personal life in order yet and may end up really complicating yours. That, and obviously choosing a married person is not in your best interest if you want a real relationship. They talk to strangers mainly to feel the void of loneliness. Best to seek only singles.
3. Bad communicators
If you’ve startув chatting with someone who emails Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, but then goes quiet over the weekend, you’re probably chatting with a player. In most cases, random cam to cam chat is a game for them. They may be married and therefore only able to email safely from work, or they could be testing you to see how you react to it. These are not people who deserve your time and how they communicate by email is reflective of how they will communicate once you meet them.
4. No photo
There was a time when people were too embarrassed to include a real photo of themselves in their profile, in case anyone they knew recognized them. That’s not the case today; online dating is no longer a societal taboo. If someone is chatting you up but hasn’t got a photo, they are probably hiding something (perhaps a spouse or significant other!)
Best Chance of Success
1. Date locally
If you are seeking men or women who live in your neighborhood, you’ve got a pretty good chance of meeting someone you’d like to date. That’s not to say long distance doesn’t work, but it’s far, far less successful. Search for people in your own area or in a nearby town to give yourself the best odds. On the other hand, if you’re about to move across the country, finding people in your new location before you arrive is a common way of making new acquaintances in advance.
2. Action speaks louder than words
There are a number of people from random video chat websites who cling to the diving board with little intention of diving in. You want to chat up people who are willing to meet you within a week or two of making your initial email contact. Sure, you want to know something about them before you jump in the pool, but there are people who will drag their feet forever and you don’t want to waste time on them.
3. Look at newish profiles
If possible, seek out people who are newish members, as they are going to be the most hopeful and less jaded. That said, sometimes people will create a profile and then not use it for a year — those people are newish in their own way, and it never hurts to ask them how often they use the site, as people can still be players online.
4. Choose people who have a real profile.
If someone is using a dating site, they *want* to attract someone. People who want to attract someone will advertise themselves in the hope of being noticed. Therefore, those people who have limited profiles with little text are probably holding back and will not be the easiest to engage.
