After being in a fairly long-term relationship my friends and I decided it would be good for me to attempt online dating and its other forms, namely Tinder. So over the past year I have spent my evenings scrutinising the profiles and photographs of all these apparent singletons in a bid to find Mr. Right.
But rather than finding Mr. Right I feel I have found all the things wrong with the Internet and relationships these days. Of course I am not blaming anyone for shamelessly promoting themselves but when you are unable to back it up in person it makes for a disappointing evening. This isn't to say that all the dates I've had over the past year have been bad! There have been some truly enjoyable ones, spent with individuals who I have made me laugh, had something going on between the ears and who have been attractive.
The purpose of this letter is both a warning to unsuspecting online daters and the people being a little over ambitious with how they create their online personas. At the end of the day these people are the ones who waste everyones time and make the internet a bad place.
Here I have listed some of the pitfalls I have come across, so that hopefully others may avoid them.
1. If someone's looks a little too good in all their pictures it is usually too good to be true!
So you might say I'm generalising but if you do find a super hot guy or girl on a dating sight such as Tinder then chances are there could be a few things wrong. They are either messing with their photographs to improve themselves...hey a little photoshop never hurt anybody but the last thing you want on a date is to think 'you don't look like your photos', they might not even be their photos at all! And something that has come more to my attention that people will use sites such as this for a free dates and I don't like the idea that if you were to meet someone from Tinder then chances are they will be having other people on the go for sometime whilst you see them.
2. The addiction of online dating.
I briefly mentioned it above but it can be easy to get quickly swept up in the attention you get and it is almost a game to see who has 'approved' your profile. It creates a very unrealistic basis for relationships and people end up getting more into the stats of being liked than actually finding someone they like.
3. The people who are just after sex.
When I first joined Tinder as a bit of fun I saw it as a way of meeting a likeminded person who I knew was initially attracted to me and vice versa. My friends on the other hand told me it was more like a modern 'Fuckbook' and a jovial argument ensued. As a result my friend took it upon herself to go on my account and almost immediately get a match with a guy and begin a risky conversation. Needless to say the site had found a match of a guy within 5 miles who was very excited about meeting! I ended that conversation pretty hastily. Joking aside, this is always going to happen on dating sites but it does get in the way of things for those of us who want to try and meet someone interesting and fun.
4. Lying as a whole.
It would be foolish of me not to think there is lying on online dating but how can you expect someone to ignore the fact that you are older than you have stated or that you don't actually enjoy reading Shakespeare?
5. The cringeworthy cliches.
It still amazes me what people try and get away with on dates in a bid to get into your knickers. I never thought I'd hear someone I've been on a date with ask if they can use my bathroom. First of all, it is no way to end a date to just pop to their loo and then say bye again and second of all we all know it is their last bid to get into your home and hope you won't mind them staying!
My list could go on but I don't want to bore you and somethings are more enjoyable when you find them out for yourself! Watch out for the stereotypical oddballs who are online and don't let yourself get caught up with someone until you meet them face to face. Regardless the world of online dating and dating apps is definitely a unique one...you might not find your Mr or Miss Right but you will definitely have a few stories to show for the effort, this is definitely the case with me!
