Dating goes to cyber space

Someone wise once said, “Time stops for no one”.  Time is a funny thing in that even the most stable and secure items will become old and obsolete. For thousands of years the concept of dating was virtually unchanged. Today we live in a virtual world where the notion of finding love on the internet is common practice. As early as 10 years ago online dating was considered for losers and computer nerds. Not only has online dating become accepted but is now one of the most common ways of finding a mate.       In 2005 U.S. residents paid over $500 million dollars to online dating services making it the second largest segment in paid generated content according to Online Publishers Association. There are literally hundreds of thousands of dating websites with more launching every day. The internet has made our world much more efficient and organized. Dating online is no different.       No longer do individuals have to rely on meeting someone by chance. Anyone can search for certain characteristics they are looking for in a mate to narrow down their search. Most dating sites have a plethora of search options ranging from general terms such as age, height and hair color to more specific qualities such as lifestyle, personality and romantic tendencies. Finding someone similar to your own personality is efficient and reliable.        The most common misconception of  Dating online is that it is much easier than traditional dating. Although dating online can be more straightforward, there are still some guidelines to follow to guarantee optimal success. * Be Honest: Do not post false or misleading pictures and information about yourself. Lying will only make them run for the hills at a later date. * Be Complete: Do not fill out your profile haphazardly. Although it may take extra time, fill out every record. Your profile is the first impression your potential mate will see; make it really stand out.* Be Realistic: Do not expect to find a multitude of supermodels clamoring to date you. Expect to find all sorts of different people looking for different things in a relationship.   * Be Likeable: Do not be an online jerk. Respect the people you interact with even though they may not be the one you are looking for.* Be Adventurous: Nobody likes a homebody. Spend time expanding your own interests and hobbies. Go rock climbing, learn to play the guitar, join a poker club or take a painting class. Expanding your personality makes you more interesting both online and offline. * Be Active: Successful online daters know that it takes work to find someone online. Spend some time each day pursuing interesting profiles. Online dating is a numbers game. The more profiles you respond to the chances of finding success rise.         Online dating does have some pitfalls that all daters need to be aware of. Some problems from online dating are fake profile put up by the company, free membership trials where you can’t contact anyone unless you sign-up for the premium service, misleading photos, email spam and online predators.