Online dating is very popular — that’s an indisputable fact. Today, every fifth relationship begins on the web. According to experts, by 2040 70% of couples will be created exclusively thanks to online dating.
- it’s convenient — you can get acquainted without leaving your home
- it’s safe — a particularly important factor in pandemic conditions
- it is effective — in one evening you can meet literally dozens of interesting people
But is everything as cloudless as it seems at first glance? Not really. Psychologists all over the world note that users of dating services tend to face the same problems. Let’s analyze these problems and find the best ways to solve them.
Deceiving Users in Profiles on Dating Sites and Apps
Research agency OpinionMatters undertook a study in which they surveyed 1,000 dating platform users. Of these, 53% admitted that they had lied about something when filling out a questionnaire on a dating site.
More than half of these 53% were women. About 20% of them posted a profile photo where they were several years younger. Among men, lying is most often related to their financial situation. About 40% of them lied about their work.
We recommend that you take a look at the research results at OpinionMatters — it includes many interesting things.
Psychologists note that the tendency to embellish information about themselves is more often observed among young users of dating sites. The older generation takes dating more seriously and thoroughly.
They’re more honest when filling out a profile and communicating with potential partners.
Things are a little better in online video chat, where users don’t have personal profiles and there are fewer opportunities to lie about yourself.
And in a face-to-face video call, people are more honest. So if you do not want to deal with outright lies in online dating, give preference to video chats.
Many Relationships That Start on the Web Are Very Short-Term
A few years ago, Michigan State University undertook a study that concluded that relationships that start online are 28% more likely to end within a year than relationships that start offline.
However, there are a number of similar studies that show completely different results. It’s difficult to objectively say which couples are ultimately stronger — those formed online or offline.
Many psychologists agree that the strength of the relationship of “online couples” often depends on the format of communication via the Internet they selected.
If it was regular messaging, after which people met offline and quickly started a relationship, the chances of ending up in a strong married couple are less high. People simply don’t have time to get to know each other well.
But if we’re talking about video chats, where users communicate almost live, get to know and understand each other better, the chances of relationships developing successfully are much greater.
Online Dating Is Becoming Routine and Time Consuming
Many users spend an enormous amount of time on dating sites and apps throughout the day. They look at other people’s profiles hour after hour, like, comment, regularly check for new messages, and so on.
As a result, using the dating site becomes routine and tiresome. The user starts to burn out like they’re at work. In the end, they no longer get any pleasure from the process, nor hope for a successful acquaintance.
The best way to avoid this burnout is to limit the amount of time you use these services throughout the day. There are many ways to do this:
For Android Devices
The Family Link app. It allows you to set time limits for using a particular application. Initially, the application was created for parents so that they could limit the time their children spend on the Internet. But Family Link is great for self-monitoring too.
For iOS
The built-in Screen Time application. Here you can view daily reports with information about the usage time for different categories of programs, as well as set limits for selected categories.
For example, two hours for social media, one hour for games, and so on.
For Computers
Any programs for accounting and control of working hours. For example, a simple Chrome extension called Productivity Owl will close tabs that distract you from work and other tasks.
Of course, all these methods work only if you yourself are ready to limit the time spent using dating services and just need additional control.
Online Dating Leaves No Time for Other Important Things
This point is implied by the previous one. Dating sites and apps can develop into the same addictions as social networks or computer games. People forget about friends and family, their favorite hobbies, sports, and so on.
All their free time is occupied by dating sites. It is not right. You should not just limit the time spent on such sites, but also give yourself time for a full weekend. For example, make it a rule to use dating sites and apps no more than four days a week.
This way you can finally distract yourself, not turn the search for a mate into a routine and free up time for real life.
Online Dating Leaves No Time for Other Important Things
According to the Pew Research Center, only 53% of Americans consider dating sites and apps to be safe. The rest are convinced that they are neither completely safe nor completely unsafe.
This means that from a psychological point of view, many people are repelled by fear of using dating platforms.
In fact, this fear is partly justified. There are a lot of fraudsters on the Internet, and fraud schemes are becoming more complicated every year.
Dating sites are just some of the places where fraudsters often operate. There are already questions about moderation and the personal literacy of users.
In terms of personal data security and privacy, video chat sites win Emeraldchat, Monkey. cool, Shagle, Tinychat, CooMeet chat.
Registration is usually not required, you do not need to upload personal photos, fill in information about yourself, and so on.
Therefore, scammers are less likely to get confidential information about you. But you shouldn’t forget about the basic best practice for security on the Internet.
Everything in Moderation
Online dating has become an integral part of the lives of millions, even billions of people around the world. The number of couples that have formed thanks to the Internet is growing rapidly.
And in general, this is a positive trend, especially in our modern reality.
On the other hand, online dating is not completely cloudless. Sites and applications sometimes take too much time out of your life, people forget about the importance of live communication and literally lose touch with reality.
Conclusion
Therefore, the main rule of online dating is not to forget that there is also an offline world. There should be a balance in everything, and then every new meeting on the Internet will be pleasant, interesting, and promising for you.
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