Online Dating: No More Blind Dates?

It can be the equivalent of gambling in a casino. Sure you trust your friend but that doesn't mean both of you are always on the same wavelength.  They may consider the person they are hooking you up with very attractive. You think the person is nice looking but in your opinion very attractive is a stretch.

Then it gets to conversation. You hope the other person can hold their own; indeed your buddy gave you assurances that they could. Come to find out they either have no conversation skills or they do not have a clue when to shut up.

So it's no wonder why many people think online dating means no more blind dates. After all, the purpose is to get to know the other person as much as possible before deciding to make a go of meeting face to face. In essence you are trying to remove as much of the unknown factor as possible. No guessing about their looks, interests, likes and dislikes since all the homework was done in your online chats. 

Yet in a few ways it still is a blind date.  Why?

1. Online-Off Exchange

From the comfort of your own home the conversations sparkle. However for some reason it dries up at that first offline hook up. It could be nerves or that the two of you have chatted so much online that by the time you get together you are all talked out. 

2. Chemistry

You cannot quite put your finger on it but whatever you had going on in cyberspace does not seem to translate to the offline world. It happens. You want things to work and so does your date but when you meet for the first time the glow is just not there.  In some instances it may have been replaced with, "I can't believe I wanted to meet this person."

3. You Don't Know

No matter how things went online, you still really do not know this person. You hope there were no exaggerations concerning the things you talked about or the profile photo they displayed.  Yet there is no way of telling until that first meeting.  Quite a number of people have been unpleasantly surprised at that first hook up because the other person was not what they advertised. It may only have been one or two items that appear trivial when taken on their own merit. But this has nothing to do with being taken out of context As far as you are concerned they lied.

Online dating can increase the odds in your favor that meeting that special someone for the first time will not be a complete shock or disappointment. But it is not a full proof system.  Therefore like a blind date prepare yourself for the unexpected and believe that you can handle whatever circumstance arises.