Psychologists Say Online Dating Is Good
from the can't-argue-with-that dept
Psychologists are apparently now studying online dating, and their findings may surprise you. Apparently, people who meet online are more likely to reveal their true selves to others, instead of trying to pass themselves off as who they would like to be. I find that a bit counter-intuitive. It also seems to go against the various anecdotes I've heard from those who have been active online daters. However, who am I to argue with the pros? They say that the "narrower bandwidth" for communication means that a person needs to reveal their true inner selves, rather than hiding it as they might in person. As far as I can tell, this really means that online daters "talk more" before it goes anywhere.
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Why counter-intuitive?
How is that counter-intuitive...as someone who has frequently been on online dating services and who's found his future wife on one I can say that for the MOST part, what those shrinks say is true. The people who are serious about it tend to open up and the semi-anonymous medium allows you the freedom to be yourself (your true self like they say) from the get go. As for the negative experiences, yes, there are some...there are ALWAYS morons, players and such everywhere you go from both sexes (that's right, women are every bit as bad). However, that being said, I would say that the percentage of *ssh*les is lower online if you are using these systems with a serious intent.
Stay local (or semi local), communicate a LOT before anything else, exchange pics and make sure that from the start you are clear that you want this to lead to a real life meet and then you'll take it from there (if anywhere) and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to weed out the players
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