If you are single and looking to meet someone new, you may be wondering about the benefits of online dating vs traditional dating. Nowadays, online dating has become so popular in some places that meeting someone online is more common than meeting someone the traditional way. Why is this? Well, online dating is certainly convenient. Most of us are perpetually glued to our smartphones and online dating offers you access to thousands of singles in your area at the click of a few buttons. Furthermore, it saves one the effort of needing to go out and mingle in order to meet someone new. One can simply swipe through an online dating app during the day and easily reach out to others. Online dating can be efficient in that sense.
However, there are certainly drawbacks when it comes to online dating. The risk of scams and ghosting are far higher, simply because you are dealing with complete strangers. There is less accountability compared to traditional dating. Someone you’ve met from online dating can easily misrepresent themselves. If they want to break things off, it’s far easier for them to ghost you. After all, it’s unlikely you have mutual friends and there may be no way for you to contact them. Here we outline the differences when considering online dating vs traditional dating.
Online dating vs traditional dating: Ghosting is notoriously common during online dating
Ghosting i.e. when communication is abruptly ended without explanation is very common during online dating. This is simply because with online dating, people match with many different people. Even if the conversation starts out well, it’s likely that things will eventually fizzle out. Even if you’ve met in person, it may be quite clear to one or both of you that things are not going to go any further. In this situation, it’s not surprising if you get ghosted.
With online dating, some people feel that there is no need to explain that they are no longer interested. This seems reasonable if you’ve only been messaging briefly or met once or twice. However, ghosting after chatting for a long period of time or after going on several dates is inevitably more hurtful.
Ghosting is more common with online dating because it’s very easy to do so. Chances are, you’ll never bump into the other person in real life. Nor do you have any mutual friends or connections. Therefore, ghosting is a quick way of ending things without needing to explain anything. There will likely be no repercussions for the ghoster. On the other hand, if the person you’ve been seeing is someone with whom you have mutual friends or know through work, it’s much harder to ghost them.
Online dating vs traditional dating: People often feel less accountability with online dating
When you match with someone on an online dating app, this person is most likely outside your social circle. In fact, many people turn to online dating as they feel that they are unable to meet people in the traditional way. Perhaps they’ve already met everyone there is to meet in their social circle including friends of friends. They may simply desire to meet someone completely new and start with a blank slate.
With online dating, as you are often meeting someone with whom you have no prior connection to, it can be easy to feel less accountable during dating. For example, if your friend introduces you to their friend and you start dating, you will probably think twice before ghosting (or two-timing) them. You simply wouldn’t want word to get back to your friends that you’ve treated the other person disrespectfully. Unfortunately, with online dating, it can be too easy to simply start and stop relationships. Since you have no mutual friends, it’s unlikely you’ll ever bump into them after things are over.
This is not to say that everyone treats online dating less seriously than traditional dating. There are certainly many people who treat online dates with as much respect as someone they’d met in the traditional way. It’s just far easier to ghost or behave less than ideally towards someone you’ve met through online dating. They don’t know anything about you, nor do you have mutual friends.
Online dating vs traditional dating: It’s easy to lie on online dating platforms
Many people lie on their online dating profiles. Common misrepresentations include height, age and relationship status. Unfortunately, some people even use fake photos on their profile. This can be extremely frustrating for someone who is honest and looking for something serious. The worst is when you’ve spent significant time chatting to someone on the online dating app, only to be very disappointed when you meet them in person.
It’s certainly possible that the person you’ve matched with who claims to be single is actually in a relationship. Or, they look vastly different to the photos that you’ve seen. When you meet someone in a more traditional way e.g. through friends or through work, or even while you’re out and about, at least you know what they look like. If you’ve met through friends you can easily get further information and validate anything this person has told you.
Related: Online Dating: 5 Signs he’s not interested
Online dating vs traditional dating: Scammers thrive on online dating platforms
Online dating platforms are a scammers paradise. It’s an ideal way for them target singles who are potentially lonely. It’s simply too easy to create a perfect dating profile that’s appealing to other people by posting photos of them in exotic holiday locations or doing exciting activities. They are often experts at making themselves appear trustworthy and building up a relationship quickly. They may even be able to make people fall in love with them over time (think: The Tinder Swindler).
Scammers are able to forge seemingly ‘serious’ relationships with people they’ve matched with online. Over time, they may gradually start to make requests for money or other assistance. Often, this is justified by telling a sad story e.g. they need money for an ‘emergency’ or medical treatment. Or, they may claim to have access to an investment scheme that offers incredible returns. The list goes on.
It’s far easier for scammers to find victims on online dating platforms simply because they can do so anonymously. It’s easy to lie and create whatever story they want. They can cast a wide net and potentially reach hundreds of singles, some of whom may be particularly lonely and vulnerable. This is a real risk when it comes to online dating.
Online dating vs traditional dating: Online dating can save time and effort (and potentially money)
With traditional dating, most of us meet new people through our existing friends, while pursuing interests or in the workplace. The other way to meet singles is to simply be out and about, at restaurants, bars, festivals etc. All of these methods require you to be present in person. If you’re currently single and have exhausted your current social circle, it can feel like a big effort to consistently go out to meet new people. It may even be hard to find the time to do so, in between work or studying. Perhaps you’re too busy to go out more than one day a week.
Online dating allows you to meet potential singles from the comfort of your own home. Anytime you have a few spare minutes to swipe you can match with other people. It’s the fastest way of getting in touch with someone new who looks interesting. It’s a great way for busy people to meet new people as it’s almost effortless compared to meeting people the traditional way.
The other advantage of online dating is that since you can avoid going out and still meet people, you can potentially save money. Furthermore, online dating allows you to start chatting to someone, allowing you to get to know them before you decide to meet. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes of conversation on an online dating app to know that someone is absolutely not your type. It can be quick to filter people out, thereby saving you time and effort.
Online dating vs traditional dating: Online dating allows you to meet people outside your social circle
If you’re getting tired of meeting the same people over and over again, perhaps you need to look outside your social circle. We all need a change of scenery sometimes. Online dating is an easy way to connect with people you would never meet in your day-to-day life. You can search for people based on their age and location. It also allows you to meet people who are genuinely interested in dating and potentially with similar interests. Many couples who met online admit that if it were not for online dating, they simply would have never crossed paths in real life.
Online dating vs traditional dating: Which is better?
In conclusion, there are many factors to consider when considering online dating vs traditional dating. Online dating is certainly convenient and allows one to easily connect with people they would have never met in their daily life. You can search for other singles no matter where you are or what time it is. However, online dating carries the risk of being lied to or even scammed. You often have little way of verifying what the other person is telling you.
Many people nowadays who are serious about meeting other people will combine both online dating and meeting people in the traditional way. This way you can have the best of both worlds. It also takes away some of the pressure. You don’t need to spend hours filtering through online dating profiles. Instead, you can go out with friends and enjoy your time plus potentially meet new people that way. At the end of the day, both online and traditional dating have their benefits and there is no right or wrong. The most important thing is to keep an open-mind, enjoy the process and always look out for your own safety.
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