The Pros and Cons of Internet Dating

The reason that Internet dating has caught on so fast is that it allows you to be totally in control of the whole dating situation. You can log on whenever you want and make all of the moves in at your leisure - even in the middle of the night. Even the shyest person can drop someone an email to say hello and look at the details of anyone who has sent an email to them. Send out lots of messages - you know how nice it is to hear that "You've Got Mail" - and just enjoy yourself.

Take a look at the following pros and cons list to see if internet dating is for you:

Pros

• You can log on whenever it suits you - after work, during lunch or over breakfast. There will always be people to chat to online.
• It's a fast way of meeting a lot of different people.
• It can help ease you into the social scene if you've just moved to an area or don't know anyone locally.
• It's a great hunting ground for busy, single people, especially if you work in an industry that is predominately the same sex, and so you find it hard to meet members of the opposite sex.
• You can go on a virtual date and flirt to your heart's content, whilst wearing your pyjamas.
• You can often find out more about someone before dating them than you could from a bar or club pick up.
• It's essentially anonymous, so you can have as much fun as you like, without fear of judgement.
• If all your friends are dating or settled, it's a great way to meet people on your own.
• Even if your date doesn't work out, you can still chat when they're online – there are many potential new friends out there.

Cons

• People's own descriptions of themselves vary wildly from the modest but gorgeous girl who describes herself as 'average' to the (unfortunately more common), overweight, balding horror, who describes himself as 'athletic and stunning'!
• People are often not what they seem - their photos may be several years out of date or not them at all.
• It's an easy playground for married men looking for some extra-marital fun - some are honest, others not.
• You may get into conversation with someone who seems perfect for you, only to find out that they live hundreds of miles away from you, or worse, on another continent altogether.
• Some people (usually men) start out in a friendly and talkative manner, then immediately move on to much more explicit chat.
• You'll have to put up with a lot of bizarre spellings. There's usually no spell check on internet dating sites.
• Some of the longer messages are clearly just 'cut and paste' and are impersonal, standard and often dull approaches.
• Some people may not want to actually meet you, preferring the anonymity, safety and fantasy of virtual dating to the real thing.
• It's very easy to get a lot of dates, and so you may not be the only one that your new found friend is seeing.