You’re off the heels of your last breakup and you’re ready to immerse yourself back into the dating mosh-pit, or maybe you’re new to the city and just bored -- either way, the idea of going to bars to spend your hard earned money and expend your energy to try and meet some new people seems exhausting.
So you resign yourself to online dating. You’re reluctant because you’re worried about the stigma it carries. "You can’t meet someone in the real world! You have to resort to finding someone on a computer! Hahahaha!"
That’s not really the case. No one really cares. Get over that notion. You’re simply changing with the times. People and the city itself are insanely fast paced. Virtual dating offers a new and convenient way of seeking out a date that will hopefully one day become your mate. Dating sites are perfect for this city because of its convenience, and turnaround time.
Your chances of success online simply rides on a good profile, along with a nice set of current pictures that bring out your personality and allows the best you to shine through. And finally, you’ll need to compose a good introductory email, but one that is crafted specifically for the person you are writing to. People can spot form letters in a second that you probably copied and pasted to 100 different prospects. So don’t just look at pictures. Read their profiles. Carefully.
With all these right tools, you may score several dates, perhaps in one week. Remember what your goal is. Finding someone special. And all the dates in between, both good and bad, are simply filler until you feel you found that special someone which is just as hard as it is in the real world, especially in 2011. Why? Because cities like New York are Petri dishes infested with viruses called narcissism, materialism, and the biggest and worst of all, impatience, causing a powerful little bug inside us that feeds on this constant need to upgrade.
It’s not that people in the city are bad people. Quite the contrary, it’s simply the times we live in. The digital age. Technology is increasing exponentially while everyone’s patience and attention span are dwindling at the same alarming rate.
As soon as you settle down with one gadget what happens. Something better comes along within three months. A better model, better monthly plan. One that's faster, cheaper, sturdier, crashes less, lasts longer, more free minutes, more durable, more memory, longer battery life, better colors, and sleeker looking.
Apply that to dating. Everyone seems more reluctant to commit out of fear that a better option might be around the corner, or in their Match.com inbox – maybe at a lower cost, hassle free, sleeker looking, with more run time! We have become so accustomed instant gratification that some people deep down expect the perfect loving relationship to evolve by the end of their first date. Be forgiving. Some people just aren’t their best on first dates. Obviously, if you are utterly repulsed by the person to the point where you'd rather jab a rusty nail in your eye than spend another waking moment with the person - well then call it a night… or…just be sure to sterilize that nail.
There are a set of rules when it comes to online dating (officially and unofficially). Some you need to abide by and some are probably best to break. This will be featured in future articles.
Unfortunately the odds of finding a long-term mate in the digital age are just not as great as it was previously. With everyone's severe lack of patience and "stick-to-it-iveness" we ALL have to now be more conscious of how we can increase our own stock value by creating a newer, sleeker, and better version of ourselves to stay one step ahead of our competition, and increase the odds of our consumer's commitment to us in an ever increasing volatile market such as 21st century dating.
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