(The Verge) – Online dating. It conjures the image of overweight men sitting on their PC in their parent’s basement and women with one too many cats. However, with online dating losing its negative stigma and the increased appeal of one-stop-shop dating, more and more college students have online dating profiles.
Since I have lived the single life for the past 2 years and follow a schedule that allows little time for searching for dates, I have finally given into the temptation that is… the aura of online dating. After exploring the world of eHarmony and testing the waters on Plenty of Fish, I have decided to share with you, my fellow collegiate singles, a few tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way.
1. Be yourself. This may seem cliche but it is so important. When I was writing my profile I tried to be as honest and transparent as possible in order portray myself genuinely. After all, you want to find someone who likes you for you, not the person you invented online.
2. Be honest. This point goes hand in hand with being yourself. You can’t build a successful relationship on a foundation of lies. We’ve all seen Catfish…it rarely ends well.
3. When in doubt turn to social media. There is almost no way to tell if someone you meet online is the person they say they are. As a rule, I always ask for Facebook and Instagram accounts. While accounts can be easily faked, it is an added level of reassurance.
4. You can’t be too safe. My friends thought that I was crazy to meet with someone I met online, but I took precautions: meet in a public place, tell a friend where you are going and make sure your cell phone is on you and charged. It may seem completely obvious, but it could be the difference between an incredible night and an amber alert.
5. Enjoy it! Dating is supposed to be fun and with literally thousands of profiles at your fingertips you get to hand-pick your perfect date. Enjoy the experience and have fun with it.
But the hierarchy of importance aside, I’d say that there is a genuine, untapped world out there. It’s our job, as busy college students, to tap into it–maybe we’ll find love, as so eloquently displayed on the eHarmony commercials (let’s just hope those actors are genuine).
If you find yourself to be decisively torn on whether to log in or not–just give it a whirl. What do you, as a young student, have to lose? Just always remain cautious.
