Online Dating Blog

Do You Have A Dating Addiction?
Steve at SeaCoastOnline.com discusses addictions in general and specifically the idea of having a dating addiction. If you date online long enough you will probably run into someone who seems to have a little too many dating stories. You might find yourself wondering, “Exactly how long has this person been dating online?”. My opinion is that dating addictions exist and that online dating can actually encourage this activity. If I’m honest, when I met Kate (the woman who would someday become my wife), I was excited but there was also a thought in the back of my mind, “Wouldn’t it be exciting to keep dating?”. This was insane because I had finally met the right woman and I was able to kill that thought pretty quickly but I can understand how some people could become addicted. It’s sad that these people would pass up the right person just so they could meet the next.

My Online Dating Success
Some days it seems like everyone who has hurdles with online dating is more than happy to run to the internet and complain about it. Not that I blame them. Still, it’s nice to read an article where the author found success with online dating (in this case using JDate). I think the fact that we want to vent when we experience failure but are silent when we find success gives newcomers to online dating the wrong impression (or at least an incomplete one).

It reminds me of when I worked for a help desk. All the people who took the time to call were dealing with some problem. In two years I never had a customer call to say how great the product was working. If I had to judge our product based on those making the most noise, I would have been given a very wrong impression of the quality of our products. Online dating is the same. Yes, there are weird people; yes, it will take some hard work; yes, sometimes it sucks…but there are also plenty of successes out there as well.

When First Dates Feel More Like Interviews
This article discusses how first dates have changed and how we have to put effort into “marketing” ourselves. In the past, a first date meant that there was already a connection but today, as the article correctly states things, first dates are more like an interview. Well, it’s really like two interviews happening at the same time. The article ends suggesting that the challenge going forward will be bringing the “spark” back to dating.

Here’s where my opinion diverges from the article as I think you can have fun on first dates even though they do take on an interview quality. If you can enjoy meeting people with the added potential benefit of finding that ideal guy or girl, I think the entire online dating process can be far more endurable. When I started dating online, I hated it for some of the very reasons laid out in this article. After a year of aggressive online dating and a serious change in my approach, I was having the time of my life. My dates hadn’t improved much but my attitude had and it made all the difference.