What's your opinions on online-dating?

[Reality]

I personally am not against it.

I know people who e-date get judged a lot, and their relationship is often despised or doubted or just simply misunderstood. Many people believe online dating is too risky and crap, which I can see why.. it's easy to end up dating liars, who are posing in some way - like pretending to be the opposite gender, or pretending to be 40 years younger than they really are, and even some of the ones that aren't lying about their identity have lied or exaggerated something about themselves to seem more impressionable to the person s/he is dating.

And then to the people that are a little more accepting, they may doubt the relationship because it's usually long distance (i.e. someone in the USA dating someone in Australia) - which complicates things more, because of timezone differences, the lack of contact, and the fact it's a lot more expensive to call each other, meaning unless one of them is rich - they'll rarely get to call.


But on the other hand, I've seen e-dates that have worked. Two people I know met on a game, one is from Wales - the other from Norway, met and now live together, although they're in their early 20's. I know a teenage couple that have been together since August 2007, both live in England, haven't met yet, but keep regular contact through MSN, mobile phone and Skype/webcam.

I think stuff like phone, webcam, Skype, etc. make online dating more "real". Of course, it still misses a lot of substance real-life dating has - like eye contact, touching, hugging, sex, kissing, etc. But I believe it's acceptable - just be careful.

From personal experience, I've only e-dated once and it lasted a month. I dated a girl in New Jersey, USA that I originally met on Habbo (a Sims-like videogame where you can chat) when I used to play it two/three years ago, whilst I live across the Atlantic in England - we only talked on MSN and mic, but it still had a somewhat real feel.. but it ended badly. I'd e-date again.. but only do it properly. But I'd honestly prefer to date people in real-life.

So guys, what's your opinion on it all? Have you any of you experienced e-dating, or still are?

[theOperaGhost]

I am not for or against it. I don't think online relationships are healthy relationships and they rarely are long term. I think it is a much better idea to get out and find actual people. I feel that relationships need to be more personal than they could EVER be on a computer to be healthy or long lasting.

I'm not against it either though. There are SOME success stories, I guess. I think you can use the internet to meet people, but not to have a full relationship. However, this could lead to a HUGE life change, since the person you meet online is quite likely not very close in distance from you.

I think the disadvantages greatly outweigh the advantages. I would personally NEVER do it, but it's everyone's choice, I guess.

[Gumleaf]

well, speaking from someone who has had an online relationship, i can see how they can be good, but i can also see where there is trouble. at first i think all online relationships are great. i thought my one was fantastic and loved it. but as things develop, feelings for eachother grow stronger and the general atmosphere of the relationship becomes more personal, the more you will want to be together. unless there is a promise of that in the future you will actually be together in person, then you are missing out on too much by just having an online relationship. i know i want those hugs, i want those kisses, i want to see my girlfriend win a game of netball and see the reaction on her face when she scores a goal, i want to be there for her when she is upset and let her cry on my shoulder and i want to cuddle up to her and watch a movie together. and those things you can't transcribe online as much as you would love to be able to. i have a friend who met her boyfriend online and are planning on getting married and stuff which is awesome and is an example of a successful online relationship, but in reality most don't work out and finding someone who you can actually be with is the most important thing.

[ebony15]

Quite a speech there Semp ;)..
i also know this Lady, well she's like a big sister to me. but she met this guy online. and he came here to our country. They are engaged. The guy is divorced though and has this really cute kid.. :)

[Sage]

Speaking entirely from experience, here: Online relationships will only work if the two persons involved have some way of meeting eachother fairly soon. In other words, if the person you meet only lives in the next town over or you're two adults and driving however far you live away from eachother on a regular basis, it'll probably work out.

That being said, you also have to have even more trust in the person than in a regular relationship, as you'll see them less often and it could be very tempting to cheat on them.

[ebony15]

Speaking entirely from experience, here: Online relationships will only work if the two persons involved have some way of meeting eachother fairly soon. In other words, if the person you meet only lives in the next town over or you're two adults and driving however far you live away from eachother on a regular basis, it'll probably work out.

That being said, you also have to have even more trust in the person than in a regular relationship, as you'll see them less often and it could be very tempting to cheat on them.

so so true :)

the sad thing about the whole TRUST thing, when you give all your trust, and you find out he/she is actually cheating on you, you'll end up heartbroken.. :(