Despite sloppy journalism and ‘experts’ that couldn’t get laid if they tried, the world of casual online dating is not the worst way to meet someone. The one thing that people forget is that online dating is almost exactly the same as traditional dating…with added benefits.
In both the online and offline dating world there will always be the same types of people; liars, cheats, freaks, workaholics, shy people, nice people, genuine people, loud people, funny people, kinky people,…you get the drift. Your job in either case is to find what it is you’re looking for. So to prove that I’m not just here to make you sign up to this site, I’ve taken a long hard look at the pros and cons of online dating and picked whether I think the Pros or Cons in each instance are ‘Winners’ or ‘Losers’.
PROS AND CONS
READY?
FIGHT!
PRO
Time
Basically no one has any. Online dating eliminates a lot of time spent on a date by doing the initial chatting and ‘getting to know you’ bit before deciding whether or not you want to meet up in person. Plus you both know that you’re here looking for basically the same thing.
CON
Time
It could be argued that half the fun of dating is spending loads of time doing the initial ‘getting to know you’ bit.
WINNER: PRO
I’d rather spend my time with someone I’m 70% sure I’ll get on with then wasting 3 hours talking only to discover that my date is an escaped guerrilla from Sydney Zoo.
PRO
Location
You get to pick where you want to search for your date online. This has the added advantage of instantly eliminating the guy who lives 50 miles away or the girl who’s ‘only in town for a few weeks before she flies back to the Philippines’. Even if they’re really good looking, the chances are you’ll spend so much time and money getting to your date you’ll be clock watching to make sure you don’t miss your train or plane home.
CON
Location
If you meet someone in a bar, club or anywhere you go to a lot, the chances are they live locally to you meaning you have a better chance of dating and sleeping with them. Also what if you accidentally miss meeting the f-buddy of your life because you didn’t go to the bar that night as you were busy looking for them on your laptop?
WINNER: DRAW.
At the end of the day, location can be a pro and a con in both worlds.
PRO
Money
Average spend on a night out searching for a date: $60-$103
Average spend on online dating over a year in the Australia: $17.94
CON
Money
Er hello? $17.94 per annum vs up to $103 a night??!
WINNER: PRO … by a landslide
Nice try Con.
PRO
Shyness
This afflicts more people then you can possibly imagine. Online dating allows someone who otherwise wouldn’t approach (let alone talk to) anyone to say hello and chat without the perceived embarrassment of public rejection.
CON
Shyness
Can’t really think of any cons. A clinical psychologist might argue that online dating doesn’t encourage someone to come out of their shell, but those of us who live in the real world know that clinical psychologists don’t.
WINNER: PRO
Shy is sexy these days
FINAL RESULT
Well sorry to say it (we’re not really), but the pros of online dating far outweigh the cons.
Don’t believe us? If you still think that online dating is a bad idea, why not try it first? You never know, you might just meet your ultimate sexual fantasy…or even the love of your life. Just like (gasp!) in the ‘real’ world.
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