Finding love fifty years ago was as simple as your parents inviting the person next door over for dinner. You went out on a few dates, got pinned and then married right after high school. Today, it seems much harder to find that special someone even though more options are available.

Looking For Love

You’ve tried to find love by making yourself available through your friends by double dating or vacationing together. That didn’t work. After school, work, taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning and carpooling - what time is there left? Maybe there’s just enough time for speed dating which turns out to be mentally and emotionally exhausting. You can’t even remember their faces let alone their names and personalities.

It becomes easier to conclude that all the good men and women are already in committed romantic relationships. But you’re an optimist so you give it one last try by scouring promotional parties, the museum, dog parks and the theater before giving up. That is until an interesting source (a television commercial) suggest the Internet.

The Dating Game

Online dating is big business. Various workshops and seminars actually teach people how to meet singles online.

There are many dating web sites floating through cyberspace such as Match.com, Plentyoffish.com, Singlesnet.com and eHarmony.com. You hear of the success stories and see real people on television who have found the love of their life. Although online dating is still new to some, it has become an influential part of the dating scene.

Match.com ranks as one of the largest online dating services in the world according to one of the top statistic data websites - Hitwise.com. It has consistently gained the approval of singles looking for love all over the world which makes for a greater chance of finding love. But is online dating safe? How do you know if the person you’re getting to know is really the ‘person you’re getting to know?

Possible Deterrent

Unfortunately, we live in a world where some individuals choose to hide what they are and it’s very easy to do through online dating. Profiles consist of personal information such as age, height, hair color, eye color, city and state location, interests, hobbies, occupation and more. Obviously these can be altered to fit personal preferences and aren’t necessarily true.

Posting photos may give an individual a visualization of how the person looks. Still, this could also be of someone other than the one profiled or of an earlier photo possibly twenty years earlier. How easily a person can be deceived while trying to find love online. Take for example the popular television show on MSNBC’s ‘To Catch a Predator’. These men are clearly dishonest and use online dating for selfish, perverted reasons - to harm unsuspecting victims.

Think Positive

In the words of the late recording artist Aaliyah, “If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.” In life there are pros and cons, we take the good with the bad. Just because you don’t find love at the time you’re looking for it, doesn’t mean that special someone isn’t out there. Weigh your options and find out which form of dating is right for you. Keep a positive attitude - love comes naturally and usually when we least expect it.