YOUR VIEW on online dating vs traditional dating Options

[lillylin91]

hey... i'm doing a sociological research paper on the issue of online dating... i REALLY need some opinions/feedback of what people think of it. I need a broad range of people to answer these questions, so I'd FULLY APPRECIATE it if any of you guys can help me by answering me these questions. since i'm only 18, i don't know anyone who online dates....

if you've only dated "traditionally" (face to face, meeting people in real life) then please answer any of these questions:
1. would you try online dating?
2. How long would you wait to meet the person in real life?
3. Would you exaggerate or make up things to make you seem like a better person?
4. Do you find online dating strange or awkward?
5. If you did online date, would you openly tell your friends/family?
6. What are the advantages of online dating?
7. What are the disadvantages of online dating?.
8. Would you feel like you missed out on the “real” dating process of which you would see, touch, feel the person? (such as going to the movies, dancing, eating together)
9. If you had to choose, would you prefer to online date or traditionally date?
10. What is the reason(s) that are keeping you from online dating?

if you've online dated, it'd be even MORE helpful. Please answer THESE questions:
1. Which online dating service did you use?
2. How much did it cost and do you think it was worth it?
3. How long did it take to find your match through online dating?
4. How would you and the other communicate?
5. How often would you communicate with them?
6. Was it difficult to express your emotions through the internet?
7. When did you two first meet in person?
8. Was it awkward to first meet them?
9. Was this person what you expected from their profile and how they acted on the internet?
10. Did you exaggerate or make up anything on your profile to make yourself more attractive to potential dates?
11. If different, how so?
12. Was it strange or awkward to try this new method?
13. Was it strange or awkward to tell your friends/family about it because some people frown upon it?
14. Regarding to your political views, would you consider yourself to be more conservative or more liberal?
15. Did the relationship through online dating last longer than the one through traditional dating?
16. What are the advantages of online dating?
17. What are the disadvantages of online dating?.
18. Do you feel like you missed out on the “real” dating process of which you would see, touch, feel the person? (such as going to the movies, dancing, eating together)
19. Do you prefer online dating over traditional dating?
20. From your experience of dating in both ways, which method would you recommend?

okay, thank you SO much for your cooperation :):) please also mention your name, age, gender, religion or whether you're athiest, and description/general location (completely urban, rural, isolated city, etc) thanks!!!

[4111989]

Yes I've tried online dating.

1. Which online dating service did you use?
OkCupid.

2. How much did it cost and do you think it was worth it?
It was 100% free although someone who wanted to bang me bought me a premium account. Needless to say nothing came out of that.

3. How long did it take to find your match through online dating?
Six months or so? I was sort of using it casually when I moved to a new city and met several people before meeting my boyfriend.

4. How would you and the other communicate?
We talked online for a month or two until we hung out.

5. How often would you communicate with them?
A couple times a week at first and then every day.

6. Was it difficult to express your emotions through the internet?
No. It wasn't like either of us expected anything, we mostly just talked about things we were both interested in and when we met the sparks flew.

7. When did you two first meet in person?
Two months after he first contacted me in the spring of 2008.

8. Was it awkward to first meet them?
Not at all since we had been talking on a regular basis and had an instant romantic connection.

9. Was this person what you expected from their profile and how they acted on the internet?
I think it's safe to say he was more than what I expected. It was one of those things were there were so many little things I noticed that made me feel like he was meant for me and whatnot. He's also really good looking and has awesome tattoos I didn't know about until we met.

10. Did you exaggerate or make up anything on your profile to make yourself more attractive to potential dates?
No, I didn't feel the need to, and I don't think many of the people I met were too different than what I expected.

11. If different, how so?
N/A

12. Was it strange or awkward to try this new method?
No. I've always had friends on the internet, and I got a myspace when I was 14 along with all my friends. We ended up making a lot of friends in our area because of it, and some people ended up dating, but it wasn't really like online dating. I started actually using the site when I moved to a new city where the only people I knew were people I worked and went to school with, and I wanted to look into other options.

13. Was it strange or awkward to tell your friends/family about it because some people frown upon it?
I still haven't told a lot of people and we've been together almost two years. It's kind of awkward because people view online dating as an alternative to failure or a last resort, but it's totally not like that. A lot of my friends and relatives have used online dating with a lot of success. I actually am grateful for the fact that I got to prescreen my dates. I wouldn't be in such an amazing relationship if it wasn't for the internet.

14. Regarding to your political views, would you consider yourself to be more conservative or more liberal?
Liberal

15. Did the relationship through online dating last longer than the one through traditional dating?
Yes, this has been my longest relationship so far.

16. What are the advantages of online dating?
Like I said, prescreening dates and being able to find people outside of your routine. It's like if you had a chance meeting on the street with someone totally attractive, but you already know all they like the same bands as you or something.

17. What are the disadvantages of online dating?
It's just as hard as regular dating. I went on a lot of dates who were fun, but not relationship material. I also went on a handful of dates with real creeps. You have to make good decisions about who to meet and where-- in a public place and all that. Admittedly I went home with my boyfriend on the first date and obviously he didn't turn out to be a creep.

18. Do you feel like you missed out on the “real” dating process of which you would see, touch, feel the person? (such as going to the movies, dancing, eating together)
Not really. There was plenty of romance.

19. Do you prefer online dating over traditional dating?
No. I'd rather date people I meet "traditionally." But it does have its benefits and I'd probably use it again if I were ever single.

20. From your experience of dating in both ways, which method would you recommend?
That depends. If you're confident in yourself but don't feel like you have a lot of options with your current social situation, then yes. Like I said, I used it when I moved to a new city and didn't know many people. However, it is important to be safe and if you're a girl, there are a lot of obnoxious guys out there who won't take the hint or will insult you if they feel like you've bruised their ego.

[sixfive]

Yes I've tried online dating.

1. Which online dating service did you use?
OkCupid.

2. How much did it cost and do you think it was worth it?
It was 100% free although someone who wanted to bang me bought me a premium account. Needless to say nothing came out of that.

3. How long did it take to find your match through online dating?
Six months or so? I was sort of using it casually when I moved to a new city and met several people before meeting my boyfriend.

4. How would you and the other communicate?
We talked online for a month or two until we hung out.

5. How often would you communicate with them?
A couple times a week at first and then every day.

6. Was it difficult to express your emotions through the internet?
No. It wasn't like either of us expected anything, we mostly just talked about things we were both interested in and when we met the sparks flew.

7. When did you two first meet in person?
Two months after he first contacted me in the spring of 2008.

8. Was it awkward to first meet them?
Not at all since we had been talking on a regular basis and had an instant romantic connection.

9. Was this person what you expected from their profile and how they acted on the internet?
I think it's safe to say he was more than what I expected. It was one of those things were there were so many little things I noticed that made me feel like he was meant for me and whatnot. He's also really good looking and has awesome tattoos I didn't know about until we met.

10. Did you exaggerate or make up anything on your profile to make yourself more attractive to potential dates?
No, I didn't feel the need to, and I don't think many of the people I met were too different than what I expected.

11. If different, how so?
N/A

12. Was it strange or awkward to try this new method?
No. I've always had friends on the internet, and I got a myspace when I was 14 along with all my friends. We ended up making a lot of friends in our area because of it, and some people ended up dating, but it wasn't really like online dating. I started actually using the site when I moved to a new city where the only people I knew were people I worked and went to school with, and I wanted to look into other options.

13. Was it strange or awkward to tell your friends/family about it because some people frown upon it?
I still haven't told a lot of people and we've been together almost two years. It's kind of awkward because people view online dating as an alternative to failure or a last resort, but it's totally not like that. A lot of my friends and relatives have used online dating with a lot of success. I actually am grateful for the fact that I got to prescreen my dates. I wouldn't be in such an amazing relationship if it wasn't for the internet.

14. Regarding to your political views, would you consider yourself to be more conservative or more liberal?
Liberal

15. Did the relationship through online dating last longer than the one through traditional dating?
Yes, this has been my longest relationship so far.

16. What are the advantages of online dating?
Like I said, prescreening dates and being able to find people outside of your routine. It's like if you had a chance meeting on the street with someone totally attractive, but you already know all they like the same bands as you or something.

17. What are the disadvantages of online dating?
It's just as hard as regular dating. I went on a lot of dates who were fun, but not relationship material. I also went on a handful of dates with real creeps. You have to make good decisions about who to meet and where-- in a public place and all that. Admittedly I went home with my boyfriend on the first date and obviously he didn't turn out to be a creep.

18. Do you feel like you missed out on the "real" dating process of which you would see, touch, feel the person? (such as going to the movies, dancing, eating together)
Not really. There was plenty of romance.

19. Do you prefer online dating over traditional dating?
No. I'd rather date people I meet "traditionally." But it does have its benefits and I'd probably use it again if I were ever single.

20. From your experience of dating in both ways, which method would you recommend?
That depends. If you're confident in yourself but don't feel like you have a lot of options with your current social situation, then yes. Like I said, I used it when I moved to a new city and didn't know many people. However, it is important to be safe and if you're a girl, there are a lot of obnoxious guys out there who won't take the hint or will insult you if they feel like you've bruised their ego.

click to enlarge

yuck

[4111989]

click to enlarge

yuck

And this is my boyfriend of two years:


Yeah, totally gross right?