Online?

[Aestai]

What is everybodys view on online dating?

[Boobies]

I think it's crap and a poor substitute for a relationship with someone you actually know =/

[The Morrigan]

Originally Posted by 3.14159265358979323846264

I think it's crap and a poor substitute for a relationship with someone you actually know =/

Just because you meet someone online doesn't mean you don't know them.

That said, if it's solely online like say someone in Australia dating someone in England then I think it's harder for the people involved. I'm not saying it can't work but it has a higher risk of things going wrong due to hardly ever (if ever) seeing the person.

If you met someone online but then meet in person then I feel that it can work well.

So overall, if two people want to get involved then that's up to them but in my opinion people in online relationships (as well as long distance relationships) have to have a lot more trust in their significant other.

[i_am_waves]

There's a difference between online dating and long distance relationships. To me, online dating is like finding someone cute online and only talking to them through IM. And that seems a bit immature, in my opinion. In a long distance relationship, you might initially meet online, but it could evolve into talking on webcam, phone calls, sending letters, and visiting each other. And as long as you can verify that the person really is who they say they are, I don't have a problem with it. Personally, I don't know if I could date someone who lived very far away, but it isn't for everyone. It would take a massive amount of trust, as well.

[Acheron]

Unless there's some prospect of meeting regularly offline, they're completely pointless. But if you're meeting offline regularly then it isn't really an online relationship, just a relationship in which you don't see each other often. While I think that looking for love on the internet is becoming more acceptable with the increasing use of online dating, online dating is a matching service for bringing people together offline. I'm actually quite suspicious of people who look for a primarily internet-based relationship. A generalisation, sure, but they tend to be the types of people I wouldn't consider dating.

But there's a bigger problem with online relationships. Healthy relationships are initially formed from, and always at least partially based on, physical attraction and physical intimacy. It's difficult to become attracted to a few pictures and an occasional Skype call, because you're missing so much of how your partner looks, moves, smells, feels in real life. And needless to say there's no prospect at all of physical intimacy of any kind, which subconsciously is the point of any relationship. It's no wonder, then, that online relationships are so unstable. You're missing everything that keeps couples together. While I suspect that it's the only romantic outlet many people will have, given the increasingly cutthroat nature of the sexual market, online relationships are inherently unfulfilling.

[MacGuffin]

I'm personally not a big fan of online dating. Like someone else said, I consider online dating to be a relationship that does not ever result in the people meeting face-to-face and really spending time with one another. I feel a relationship that doesn't involve face time can't be healthy in the long run.

[Boobies]

Originally Posted by i_am_waves

There's a difference between online dating and long distance relationships. To me, online dating is like finding someone cute online and only talking to them through IM. And that seems a bit immature, in my opinion.

This is what I was classing as an online relationship in my response.

[Marshmellow]

I'm not completely against it, but I'm not exactly for it. I can see in ways it's better than meeting someone in person. If you meet someone online, then it's easier - providing everyone is truthful with themselves - to learn whether or not you're compatible based on personality, rather than physical attraction.

So many relationships seem to be based off physical attraction, rather than actual intellectual compatibility.

The internet makes it possible for two people to meet who may not have met each other, even if they walk past each other every single day.

However, there are disadvantages, and if it never escalates to anything more than 'cyber sexing', or whatever, then it's pointless. Eventually, if you're truly committed about dating, then you're going to have to take the next step, which online is meeting in person.

It's not for everyone, and I strongly would not recommend it for minors. I know fourteen year olds who were "dating" online. They lived across the country from each other, and they would text each other and "strip" for each other. That's definitely not right.

For mature adults, it can be successful. Personally, I've never online dated. But if I were thirty and single, I'd definitely consider it.

[Acheron]

Originally Posted by Cola

So many relationships seem to be based off physical attraction, rather than actual intellectual compatibility.

What can you base a romantic relationship on, other than physical attraction? Take an extreme example: you find someone whose personality complements yours perfectly. You have similar beliefs on everything that matters, you share activities, you inspire each other to become better people. You're soulmates, assuming you believe in such a thing. Problem is, she's a girl (I'm assuming you're straight). Are you going to get down to hot sapphic loving even though you aren't even remotely attracted to her? I mean, her personality is so perfect, and that's what you should be basing your relationships on, right?

[Maloo]

I think online relationships are kind of silly. First of all, how do you even know that the things the person is saying are true? Most people act completely different online than they would in person.

I think Brad Paisley's song "Online" is a good supporter of what I'm trying to say