"omg! get a real bf/gf!" Internet dating is OKAY.

Have you dated online?

Yeah, it didn't work out though.	19.2%	[ 6650 ]
Nope.	36.3%	[ 12587 ]
Yes! And things worked out great.	11.0%	[ 3813 ]
I didn't choose to date online, I just fell in love.	14.3%	[ 4945 ]
Poll whores, click here!	19.2%	[ 6634 ]
Total Votes:			[ 34629 ]

[Nimisha]

I dated a guy online, we eventually met and he turned out to be a controlling jerk.

But I have met many wonderful people online who have become great friends. The problem with dating online is that a relationship NEEDS the physical aspect. I don't mean sex, but hugs, and holding hands, and simple touches. These touches are required for us to producing a bonding hormone.

[Maya Terre]

Online dating is kind of a rocky subject. For some people it works, and for some it doesn't.
I have a tentative relationship with a guy online, and it's tentative because the lack of physical contact takes a heavy toll sometimes. And we have a VERY large amount of space between us (try the Atlantic Ocean), so we would hardly ever be able to see each other. Admittedly, I haven't met him in the flesh yet, but we have plans for him to visit me in the summer when we both have some spare time.
The whole relationship has been rocky, but it always brings us back to the same place; we care about each other very much, but being together is somewhere in the neighborhood of impossible right now. (just so you knowm he is 18, I'm 16, so neither one is in a situation to move, especially since he hates America).
This wasn't out of lack of human contact, laziness, or anything like that. It was just plum bad (or good, depending on how you want to look at it) luck on both our parts.

[Meimi132]

I don't judge the people who do. I don't judge the people who don't. I don't personally see it as my problem. If you do it, fine, if you don't fine. But the people who don't but make fun of people who do piss me off! It's their own decision. I prefer real life dating cos u can c who they are, but sometimes u just need comfort. I don't think i have online dated before, if i have it was a LONG time ago. lol People who arn't comfortable with it should be, or shouldnt be on the internet, cos, well, it happens.

[Mouthfullofnickels]

sad, but so true

[Sarosin Narita]

I've dated online a few times, and...none of them have really worked out. I think it's the anonymity of the situation that kills it for me.

But then, on the other hand, my dad met my stepmom online, so I guess it can work, it just depends on the person.

[Charunarikshita]

I met my boyfriend of a year now online.
Our situation was a little bit different, though.
He had just graduated from the residential high school I had just moved to and all my friends knew who he was.
I knew he wasn't a 40 year old pervert.
We started out just friends for about 3 months.
When he came to visit, we knew so much about each other, it just felt right, so we started long-distance dating.
(He lived 3 hours away.)
When I had to move again, this time to the other side of the country, we decided to keep our relationship going, unless we found someone else and to be honest about it if we did.
*shrugs*
It worked for me, but it's not for everyone.

[knight_of_guthix]

WHAT THE ********! YOUR NAKED gonk gonk gonk

[Brans_Lil_Mama22]

I'm not gonna put someone down for online dating, however i don't like it. i use to talk to this guy online who had been online dating one of my close friends. Well, he "fell in love" with me, and would tell me how much he loved me, and how he couldn't wait until he came in for the weekend and junk so he could see me. Well, he would say one thing, and then do another. While he was talking to me on the phone, and on the computer, he was dating this other girl that was living in North Carolina, near him. Well, this caused problems with me and my friend. There was so much drama.

My mom has an online boyfriend. I don't approve of it. Because he only comes in to see her like a few times a year, and he only lives like 5 hours away. So, I think online dating is very hectic.

I would much rather have someone that I can be with all the time. Just like with me and my finace`. We are together all of the time, and I enjoy every second of it.

[Lady__Miko]

Online dating hmm... I will say that it can work, but its not for everyone. I'd prefer online dating than non online dating, I'm simply more comfortable with it. That's not to say I wouldn't want to eventually meet the individual I dated online, just that I'd rather meet online than off.

[R O B O T]

Although I don't agree with it, I think that some people do it because they feel ugly or insecure about themselves and lack confidence, and they don't have a lover in real life. They want to make themselves feel good about themselves and feel wanted because they have friends online.

"Hey, they can't see me so it's all good." And then they make a topic looking for a cyber boyfriend/girlfriend. People start flaming, and again, they lack self confidence more so when people say "Why don't you get a real life boyfriend?" Maybe they can't, so they figure that since no one can see them unless they post their picture, they'll have nothing to make fun of or say anything about how 'ugly' they are.

Doing this would probably boost their confidence even in the slightest, knowing what it's like to have someone care for them. Perhaps they'll learn that not everyone goes after looks, and they will understand that and get the confidence they need.

That's what I think, though I still don't like the idea of internet dating.

[Holy Roman Empire]

I don't see anything wrong with online dating. Sometimes, they can turn into something, sometimes not. Same thing applies to 'regular' relationships. Yes, with online dating comes some risk, but, it's all about trust, well, trust and plenty of picture exchange. (And webcams, perhaps) Well, in any event, that's only my opinion.

[Lunabell14]

I don't think it's a good idea. Fact is, love, as in bf/gf love, you NEED physical contact. That's the difference between a friendship and a bf/gf relationship. And I don't trust internet people. I have enough trobule trusting in person, thanks

[Lefure]

I think there is a big difference between internet dating and long distance relationships. An internet date, I feel, is when you've professed your love in someone you've met and know on the internet ONLY.

To me this is silly. Why? Because I don't believe in love at first text. I don't believe you can honest-to-god love someone before meeting them, experiencing how they act to real situations, not OL_Drama.

Now, if you meet someone online, and then later meet them offline, and conclude that you really like said person but maintain a more frequent contact through AIM and e-mail, that's a long distance relationship. Because your basis for your feelings for the person is not soley online content.

[Sandstone Warrior]

Currently, I'm in an online relationship. But I've faced plenty of people who, once they discover that I'm IN a relationship like that, start cracking jokes about how I'm hanging out / talking with a fourty-year old perverted guy in his basement.
Not likely, especially since I've been talking to her for enough time that I'd know if there was some deception involved, I write my own stories, I could probably see through a fake story given over a month's time, or I'd really have to be blind.
I'll never understand people who can't respect other's decisions like that.
Besides, webcams were invented for a reason. But some thickheaded numskulls in real life will never understand that...
*Sighs softly*
Some relationships will work out, some won't. There's cases where the person online is a complete jerk, who is posing as someone they are not, other cases where they only act like their 'true self' online, and in real relations, they put on a mask, acting like someone else... it's just like real life, to be honest. Just minus the touching. Some people need that, and some of us aren't exactly the 'touchy feelie' types. It's a culture thing, or a matter of upbringing.
As for the fourty-year old thing, here's a little shot in the eye for those that keep on saying that: date rape. Statistically, I think there's more date-rapes than internet ones, because people online are very paranoid about their personal information, or at least should be. Each carries their own risk (perverted jerk, or date rape IRL). Each has ways to minimize said risk. It's more a personal preference, because some of us (like myself) are very shy in real life. Not bad looking, but shy...

[Herbal Remedy]

I am personally totally against internet dating. One, you can never actually touch the person you are dating, you cannot hold them, kiss them, or feel their skin against yours when you're making love. Two, you do not actually know if they are being loyal to you, you cannot know if they are maybe married or have a boyfriend/girlfriend in their home town. Lastly, you do not get to see or meet the real them in a real life situation, you may think your boyfriend or girlfriend is an honest caring, good person, but for all you know they are mean and cruel in real life situations, you only get to see the good side when you talk to them on the internet.