You're probably here hanging out at Datepad for a reason: you think that internet dating is a pretty good idea. Perhaps you just want to meet people and make friends. Perhaps you're just looking for a good time. Or perhaps you're here looking for the love of your life-- who might be waiting in the next profile you click on. Either way, you've used internet dating and know that it has plenty of advantages over cruising the bar scene or striking up a conversation over the cucumbers at the grocery store.
But that doesn't mean you don't get a little internet dating fatigue from time to time. Just in case you're feeling a little worn out by the "profile, email, phone call, first date" process, we've put together a list of the top five ways in which internet dating is better than traditional dating. After all, it sure makes you feel better to know that you're looking for love (or friendship or whatever) in the right place.
1. Location, location, location
Some of us live in cities that are full of places where other singles hang out. Others, however, aren't quite so lucky. If you've already exhausted your local dating pool, or don't want to walk into another sticky downtown bar, internet dating is often the best way to meet people in your area. You can sort by location, keep your profile searches focused, and meet local people that you never would have come across otherwise.
2. More fun with less work
If you want to meet people, have fun, and maybe have a romance or three, internet dating makes it far easier than traditional dating. You get to meet more people, sift through their profiles for qualities that you're looking for in a partner, and have fun without the discomfort and difficultly of a face-to-face first meeting. When you can chat with people online and get a good gauge of their personality, views, and compatibility before you ever speak to them or meet them, you're cutting out a whole chunk of the work involved in dating. And having a good time while you're at it.
3. Way more options
Because internet dating is comparatively easy and stress free, more and more people are flocking to free sites like Datepad. Which means that the pool of people you have to choose from is very deep indeed. Even better, it's varied. With traditional dating, you generally meet only a particular kind of person: the kind you've met before a thousand times. Because you go to the same sorts of places and meet the same sorts of people over and over, it can be hard to find much variety with traditional dating. Online, however, you'll come across all kinds of people living all kinds of lives. Some of these are people you probably would never have met otherwise... and might be just what you're looking for.
4. No commitment
With traditional dating, moving on after a bad date or a missed connection is a prickly business. People's feelings get hurt, and the physical stuff gets all mixed in and in the way. When you realize you're dating somebody that's not suitable, it's messy and complicated and not much fun. And while walking away from any relationship is hard, with internet dating it's a heck of a lot easier. If you want to dump somebody you had a bad online experience with, you can generally block or simply ignore him or her. Or if you simply decide that somebody you've been chatting with is not quite right, you can send off a quick email and move on, nothing risked.
5. Shared goals and intentions
This is probably the best thing about internet dating. With traditional dating, you meet somebody, you go out... and you can spend a long time without really learning what their intentions are. Are they simply out to have a good time? Or are they looking to find a serious relationship and settle down? With internet dating, all of that information is on the table from the first moment you talk to somebody. You can sort profiles and search for people who are looking for the same things you are. When one of the most important parts of the dating process --defining your intentions-- is done before a word is shared, it simplifies the process enormously.
