Happy New Year!!! If you’re like me, you have started to take advantage of some online dating to start the new year. Although I have been resisting the urge to start online dating (I’m VERY paranoid), I have decided to take the chance since someone close to me just recently found a great guy on Zoosk. It’s a good way to start the year, don’t you think? I’m not fully ready to start looking, but I am enjoying the opportunity to meet some new people and build some new friendships. If those friendships turn into a relationship, then I’m all for it – but for now, I’m just looking for the opportunity to meet new people, and honestly, that’s the best way to start.
There are so many options, though. There is Match.com, e-Harmony, Zoosk, Single Parent Meet, and much more. How do you choose the right one, and how do you know it will work? Really and truly, you don’t. But you have to take the risk, and really be careful. You never know how things will turn out, and you don’t want to be in a situation where your life is at risk.
So I’ve decided to do a bit of research and locate some valid and important tips for online dating when you’re single!
Do’s of Online Dating
1. Be Yourself and be honest. If you’re looking for a serious match, you’ll want to focus on being yourself so that if and when you meet your date, they meet you and not some imaginary person that you’ve created.
2. Stay safe. Don’t reveal your personal contact information. And make sure to go through appropriate measures to keep yourself safe if you meet a date in real life – drive yourself, meet in a public place, and don’t invite them over to your house. Stay safe through the entire experience.
3. Before getting started, know exactly what you’re looking for. It’s hard for you to find the one for you if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Take the time and effort to understand what kind of person you’re looking for and what you expect from a person that you could inevitably date.
4. Take the time and effort to build a great online profile. In order to find the right one, you want to put time and effort into building an online profile that will attract the right people. Otherwise, you may be opening up yourself to dates that aren’t what you’re looking for and honestly you don’t need.
5. Expect the unexpected. Just because you’re dating online does not mean that you’ll find a great person the first or second time, or even at all. You may have to consider that you won’t find the person you’re looking for on the particular online dating website that you’ve chosen, or that your online profile may not be explaining exactly what you’re expecting. Be aware that you’ll more likely find tons of frogs before you find your date.
Don’ts of Online Dating
6. Don’t be afraid to say no. Just because someone shows you interest doesn’t mean you have to be interested. Don’t be afraid to say, “No, I’m not interested.” Just as you’re trying to finding someone for you, they’re trying to find someone for them too. So don’t waste your time and theirs by settling when you’re not interested.
7. Don’t complain about past relationships; don’t even bring it up! Focusing on your past relationships during a date or during building your online profile is a recipe for disaster. It shows that you haven’t completely gotten over the past and not ready to make a future. However, you want to pay attention if their past relationship is brought up because it may help to better understand your date.
8. Don’t rush love. Love rarely happens overnight, and even if it does, you should not rush it. Take your time to get the know the person you’re dating, and allow a friendship to grow and evolve before jumping into love or a serious relationship.
9. Don’t cloud your judgment. On any date, avoid alcohol. You want to stay sharp and focused during the date, and alcohol will only cloud your judgment. Even if you can handle your liquor, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
10. Don’t look for perfection. Yes, you want the person that will be great with and for you; however, don’t expect to get perfection. It doesn’t exist. And trying to find someone to fit that standard will be next to impossible.
Here are some of the articles that I found in my research for some great online dating tips!
- Dating Tips for Single Parents – Parenting.com
- Online Dating Tips for Single Parents – About.com
- 5 Women Who Found Love Online: Make online dating less sucky with these proven strategies from women who got lucky – Women’s Health Magazine
- The Dos and Don’ts of Dating Online – Dr. Phil
- An Online Dating Expert Shares 8 Tips To Vastly Improve Your Profile – Business Insider
- Get More Dates With These Online Dating Profile Tips – Self
- Survey Says! The Complete Online Dating Advice Guide For Women – The AWL
- Seven Killer Online Dating Tips for Men – PUA Database
- Tips for Safe and Healthy Online Dating – US News & World Report Health
- Online Dating Tips for Single Moms – Single Minded Women
- 5 Online Dating Tips for Single Parents – Guide to Online Dating
- Online Dating: Security Tips for Single Moms – Single Minded Women
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This is the first post in the weekly series, Single Saturdays, where I’ll be sharing topics around single life. Whether you’re single or a single parent, you’ll enjoy checking out Single Saturdays each week for a good read. Have a topic you want to see addressed? Make sure to send me an e-mail at 1epicmommy@gmail.com!
