I remember about 8 years ago when I told a friend I had signed up for an online dating site, they looked at me like I had three heads. Nowadays it’s not as taboo and many have realized that there is nothing wrong with trying different ways to meet someone and hopefully fall in love. If you do decide to take the online dating plunge, here are a few basic things to remember when setting up your profile…
DO write a profile description that makes sense for who you are at the moment. Take a few days to think about what you want and what you don’t want and be very precise because it is a waste of time to beat around the bush. The more direct you are about who you are and what you want, the more seamless this process might be. If that means it takes a little longer for you to get some hits, that’s ok because it might mean those people will be on a similar frequency.
DO spell check all of your writing. Even though this is not an English classroom, typos are a turn off for most people. And while it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t spell, it does show someone that you don’t double check things and that you didn’t put that much effort into your profile.
DO use a recent and appropriate photo. The last thing someone wants to see is your pictures from your college graduation ten years ago.
DO meet publicly when it’s time for a date. Remember this is a stranger and try not to be too naive. Meet during the day in a populated place and make sure someone close to you knows your exact whereabouts.
DON’T put your cell phone number on your profile. Remember, when people have your number they can also look up your address online if they happen to be crazy.
DON’T string people along after a first date. If someone senses you are putting them off or wasting their time they could get angry and you don’t want those types of messages in your inbox—good vibes only.
DON’T stay in the love brokering game for too long. How will you know when it’s time to shut down your account? When the process has become stressful and exhausting and you barely want to log in. So, it makes sense early on to give yourself a timeline of how long you will wait before you delete your account.
DON’T let this be the only way you are trying to find a date. Some people get locked into an ugly routine of only going to work, running errands, and spending the entire weekends in their online dating chatrooms. Make sure you are still mixing things up and also getting out of the house a lot to be around different types of people.