Internet Dating Assumptions ↣ Versus Online Dating Reality ↝

Online Dating - Is It Possible To Meet Mr. Or Mrs Right?

First thing you need to realize and remember about online dating and related websites, is they are just comprised of real people, just like you. The part of the Online Dating experience you need to be aware of and cautious of is not all online dating sites are good for meeting a real, honest person who is NOT out to get something from you, and many online dating sites have certain elements to them that are seedy, scammy or dishonest.

Learn to navigate these few, unfortunate time bombs of online dating (which is the purpose of this web page) and your chances of meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right, online, are just as good as any other way of meeting a person you may become romantically involved with.

As a side note, I would like to share the fact that both my (former) wives I met on dating websites.

The Seedy, Scammy, Not Good For Meeting Someone, Dating Sites

Some dating sites are better than others at keeping their site clean of spammers, scammers and fake profiles. Plenty Of Fish is one of the best sites at keeping its pages and members, mostly free of bad or fake profiles. Part of the price of this fake profile prevention vigilance is sometimes Plenty Of Fish ends up deleting legit member profiles by accident.

Match.com is not so great at keeping its site free of shady dating profiles. A very high percentage of the dating profiles on Match.com are fake profiles of attractive, very young women. As a former member of Match dating I can personally attest to this as every day I would get numerous winks and likes from very attractive girls, in their teens and twenties, interested in a 55 year old man?? The irony of this is not only is Match a premium/not free dating site, but it is actually fairly expensive. Sometimes the best things in life ARE still free.

Why Are There Fake Profiles On Dating Sites?

There are several reasons fake profiles exist on dating sites:

• Oftentimes, paid, not free, dating sites create fake dating profiles for the purpose of enticing new members, who sign up for free, to upgrade to a paid membership. Many paid dating sites are guilty of this. Quite often, these sites employ bots, pretending to be real people, that target new members. The idea is that if these new, free members can be tricked into believing that really attractive people are interested in talking with them, and the only way this new member can converse with these really attractive people is by upgrading to a paid membership, then the fake profile/bot has done its job.
• Individuals looking to scam people out of money. Really lonely people are most susceptible to this scam. For example an older gentleman who just lost his wife is in an emotional state where he really wants to believe this fake profile, of a sexy younger lady, who is usually in another state or another country, can be the replacement for his recently deceased wife. The fake profile will gain a certain amount of trust after several message exchanges. The fake profile will convince this grieving widow or widower that all they need to come see him and be with him is few thousands dollars for travel expenses.
• There are many other flavors and varieties of these fake profile scenarios but you get the idea.

How To Spot And Avoid These Fake Profiles

Always keep the phrase about 'too good to be true' in the back of your mind when navigating dating websites. What is the likelihood of a 60 year old man suddenly gettings lots of likes and winks from 20-something year old girls? It's not going to happen. You have to be willing to see AND accept reality.

• If you are a guy, attractive women who are initiating first contact is a red flag. Sorry to burst your bubble, but an attractive girl is NOT going to initiate first contact with men. Attractive women on dating sites get dozens of emails from guys every day. They don't initiate first contact except in the rarest of cases.
• The person is from out of state or out of the country. Again, why would an attractive person need to go out of their own neighborhood to meet someone on a dating website. Do you really think that guy who looks like George Clooney or that girl who looks like Eva Mendez REALLY needs to travel 500 miles to find a date?
• Check out this page on how to tell a fake profile. It will arm you with all the information you need to quickly identify and stay away from the fake profiles on dating sites.

First Meetings - Reality vs Expectations

When people create their dating profile almost everyone puts their better-than-best foot forward, which is a nice way of saying lying. This includes dating profile pictures. If a guy or girl has gained 15 or 25 pounds in the last two years, it's a pretty good bet their profile pictures are two years old or older.

Example of Dating Profile with Several Older Outdated Photos and One, Recent, Accurate Profile Picture

Example of Dating Profile with Several Older Outdated Photos and One, Recent, Accurate Profile Picture

While this reality of 'profile picture lying' occurs more frequently with older singles versus young people, it does happen at all ages. To keep you first meeting expectations in line with reality, assume their worst profile picture is what they really look like and if they only have one profile picture, they are probably not going to look as good as that picture.

If it turns out the person photographs were accurate or they even look better in person than their photos, consider yourself lucky and celebrate. I remember when I was in my thirties, I found most of the women I met looked pretty close to their profile pictures. The exception to this was overweight people. Now that I am in my fifties, almost every profile picture of a person I meet in person is grossly inaccurate and outdated. Makes sense because the older you get, the less attractive you get.

Tips for a Positive, Real Online Dating Experience & Avoid Scammers

1. Stay away from free dating websites. Join dating sites that are NOT free, and if you are a guy, it is important to check first and make sure they are NOT free for women also. The main reasons for this are
   1. The number of scam or fake profiles on dating sites that cost money is MUCH lower than the free dating sites.
   2. I a person is willing to pay money to meet someone they are probably not just time wasting 'tire kickers' but are more likely to be serious about meeting a long term partner as well.
2. Communicate and interact ONLY with singles who live NO MORE than 50 miles away. This significantly reduces any chance of a fake profile/person. If a single person from more than 50 miles away attempts to contact you and start an interaction with you, block them or kindly tell them you are not interested and then block them, no matter how tempting the proposition or person seems to be.
3. NEVER EVER send anyone a single penny, ever! If a person is so bad off, financially, that they need to aks you for money, why would you want to date this person?.

Fake Dating Profile on Plenty Of Fish Dating

Fake Dating Profile on Plenty Of Fish Dating