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Six months ago an old school friend and I were chatting over coffee, putting
the world to rights as women do. She was bemoaning her lack of success in
meeting the "right sort" of men. I asked her if she had tried using an internet
dating service, and the look of horror that spread across her face gave the
instant answer -- of course not! Internet dating, she informed me, was for
the sad, desperate, geeky or freaky.
Sadly this type of response is typical of people from all walks of life. Why
sadly? Because those who instantly dismiss such services are missing out on a
great opportunity.
The traditional argument for not using the internet to meet someone is that it
is not natural. So what is natural? Where have people traditionally met their
husbands, wives, lovers, and friends? Statistically, over the past 50 years the
most common place for meeting ones spouse has been the workplace. This is
hardly surprising given the ever increasing amounts of time most people are
finding themselves working. Other common meeting places include bars,
nightclubs, and parties, and some lucky few meet their lifetime partner early
in life at college or university. However, the workplace remains number one for
long term relationships.
The reason for this is simple; lasting long term relationships are usually born
out of robust friendships, and strong friendships form over time. Spend eight
hours a day five days a week with the same people and you will get to know them
very well. It is not uncommon in the modern world to spend more time with your
colleagues than with your family, an unfortunate but true fact of life.
The increasing amounts of time we as a society are spending working is leaving
less time to spend in social environments outside of the office, which means
less opportunity to meet new people. So if you don't meet someone at work,
where else is there? Enter the dating agency.
Dating agencies are not a new idea, they have been around a very long time. The
internet has simply served as a new medium for bringing people together in a
tried and tested way that agencies have used for years. However, it offers some
unique advantages for those seeking a partner. Firstly it has lowered the cost
of running a dating service, and that means agency dating has been opened up to
a much wider audience. Secondly, it has broken down geographical barriers in a
way that off-line agencies could never hope to. This is an important point
because not everyone is looking for their future husband or wife on their
doorstep. Indeed not everyone is looking for a future husband or wife; the
explosion in internet dating has made it easier than ever to find new friends
and correspondents across the globe.
These two points mean that some of the bigger agency sites now have in excess
of three million members, and literally thousands of new members joining every
day. With that many people, if you are serious about finding a partner, lover,
or a friend, then the internet is simply too big a resource to ignore. And 'net
dating is safe too; there is no need to exchange real names or even email
addresses until you feel you know someone well enough. All the services allow
you to block unwanted communication and so there is no fear of being pestered.
Used sensibly, internet dating can be safer than almost any other way of
meeting people.
The internet has revolutionised the way we work, shop, conduct our financial
affairs, and entertain ourselves. To use it as a medium for meeting new people
is a logical step in our fast changing world.
After that chat six months ago, I convinced my friend to post a profile on a
dating site, she didn't even have to pay anything to do so unless she wanted to
start sending messages to other members of the site. Now I never see her
because she is spending all of her time with her new man. She didn't find him
in five minutes like some of the sales pitches would like you to believe, but
then six months ago she didn't expect to find him at all.
About The Author
Sara Blackmoore is a relationship counselor and regular contributor to The
Dating WebReview. She lives in London, England with her husband and two
children. The Dating WebReview provides independent reviews of internet dating
services, as well as insightful articles, tips, and advice.
http://www.dating-webreview.com
Reprinted from ArticleCity.com