Believe it or not, online dating was once considered a strange and unusual thing. When I started working as a couples therapist back in the early 21st Century, I always asked my couples how they met.
My couples would often be embarrassed to tell me they met online. And there is certainly no embarrassment today about using apps and dating sites to make new connections. The downside is you can experience frustration, despair and rejection, which can lower your self-esteem and self-worth. So how you navigate the world of online dating and still take care of yourself? Here are some of my top survival tips:. This might seem like a no-brainer, but there are still people who create online dating profiles that are vague, incorrect, or just downright dishonest.
Your dating profile is like a filter. You want to attract the people that connect with you, and you want to filter away those that are not a match. The more honestly you reveal yourself in your profile will help you attract people that are better matches for you in the long run. I recommend you treat online dating as a conduit to get the contact details of potential matches.
Then organize to meet in real life sooner rather than later, so you can get the full picture on this potential mate. Unfortunately, the anonymity of the Internet means that many people treat each other badly because they can do so relatively anonymously.
Be honest and respectful in all your communications and there is a good chance people will be honest and respectful to you. Many people make the mistake of moving too quickly into a deep relationship. It takes time to get to know someone and build the type of trust and intimacy that will help you form a long-lasting relationship. Sadly, there are people out there that create fake dating profiles so they can have fun at your expense, play mind games , and sometimes these people have more sinister intentions.
