By: Lisa Bower
The pros and cons of online dating might be slightly different from chance encounters, but they remain important to the dating process. The Information Age is upon us-the Internet is quickly becoming an everyday means with which to communicate. With the Internet's e-emergence came the advent of online dating, a phenomenon that brings with it both pluses and minuses.
Online dating Web sites give people more options when it comes to dating. Instead of having to go out and meet and greet dozens upon dozens of people, you can peruse dozens upon dozens of online profiles in just a fraction of the time.
The great thing about online dating is that you don't have to chat up each person you see; you can pick and choose who you talk to, how you talk to them and when you talk to them. This saves a person time and energy. Additionally, if online dating allows you to connect with people who have similar interests, something that may be difficult to find when meeting people.
For the person with social awkwardness or a fear of rejection, online dating reduces the amount of personal interaction needed in order to get to know a prospective suitor. If you want, you can remain anonymous until you are sure you are interested in a person.
There are pros and cons of online dating and the cons are that you may be able to see a lot of personal profiles, but there is no way to verify that what you are seeing is the truth. People often lie on the Internet because no one can see truly see them. Married men can easily state that they are single, for instance, while online profile photographs could be of entirely different people or have been taken years earlier.
Of the pros and cons of online dating, another con is that it can feed into antisocial behavior. Part of dating is making sure that you get out of the house so that you interact with the world. Think about your reasons for dating online and if you're doing so because you want to avoid life outside the walls of your home.
Because you can't be sure that what you see is true, you risk meeting someone dangerous. When dating online, you want to take your time before you meet a person in whom you are interested; it's better to be safer than sorry
