With the invention of social media, dating sites, and messaging apps, courting has changed so much.
Today, many people meet, connect, and establish rapport online before meeting in person.
However, just like offline courting, internet dating isn’t a walk in the park. Some people end up in gratifying relationships, and others end up frustrated.
But, the good thing is, with the right information, you can date successfully online.
So, if you wish to avoid disappointments, here is all the information you need to know before setting your feet into the world of digital dating.
Like the name proposes, a digital relationship is where people establish and run a relationship within the online realm.
They meet, connect, interact, and bond through social media, instant messaging apps, dating websites, and other internet platforms.
Digital daters can decide to keep their relationship online forever.
However, others choose to meet up and start a serious romantic, sexual, business, or personal relationship.
Online dating cannot replace real dating.
The internet is a space where people with common relationship goals meet, communicate, and build rapport.
Afterwards, they will have to meet in person to form a real connection.
Simply put, online dating compliments real courtship rather than replacing it.
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Just like real dating, online dating comes with its fair share of positive and negative effects.
Therefore, before you dive into an online relationship, here are the consequences you should expect.
Yes, love exists as long as you and your partner are ready to make it work.
Probably, that is why thousands of people keep joining the digital dating world.
But again, technology has made love quite elusive.
Presumably, this is why many people feel like love doesn’t exist in the digital age.
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Though technology is often painted as a relationship breaker, it has two sides like a coin.
It can complement your love life when used in moderation, or it can end up hurting your relationship if misused.
On the upside, technology helps couples communicate better and feel closer always.
Couples don’t have to be around each other to enjoy that charming connection associated with pleasant conversations.
On the contrary, technology can facilitate cheating or take up much of the time you need to spend with your lover.
Many people with a failed relationship claim that social media played a role in their breakup.
They report that their ex-partners spent much time flirting on social media.
Some ended up in a relationship with someone they found online.
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Online dating comes along with several benefits, a reason why websites that offer this service are growing popular by the day.
Today, love seekers can search and connect with their right matches from the comfort of their home.
No more attending events, organizing blind dates, and walking around the streets hoping to spot the right match.
Unlike traditional dating, websites give users the freedom to define the exact type of person they want.
When signing up, the sites will request you to specify the ideal physical traits you need in person.
Afterwards, you will get suggestions of people with the characteristics you defined.
People love dating websites because they offer a space where you can meet somebody who is also looking for love.
They’ll save you from getting disappointed when you go approaching people who aren’t interested in love.
Video dating is an integral part of internet dating.
It gives people a chance to meet and chat one on one, without necessarily meeting in person.
It is an excellent way to verify the identity of someone you wish to date online.
With that said, video dating isn’t short-lived.
It will survive for as long as video technology and online dating can last.
Digital boundaries are limits that restrict you from spending your entire day on gadgets while allocating little or no time to family, friends, and yourself.
The boundaries will save you from internet addiction, a vice that leads to strained relationships, reduced interest in social interaction, depression, and anxiety.
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FAQ: Solutions to your Internet Dating and Relationship Concerns
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According to love experts, you can chat with someone for days or years, build a strong liking for each other, but you can never fall in love without a meeting.
The love that two people experience when dating online is simply an infatuation.
It can end up immediately when you meet and discover that the person isn’t what you thought.
Real love kicks in when you discover someone’s strengths and weaknesses and still feel like you want to stick to the relationship.
Such love cannot exist if you haven’t met and spent time together.
A successful love relationship goes through a meeting, curiosity/infatuation, dating, stability, and commitment stages.
At each stage, couples make a thoughtful decision before moving to the next.
Love can end at any stage due to incompatibility or emotional immaturity.
Ideally, you cannot love anyone without meeting.
The meeting can happen online or physically during an event, through friends, at church, school, on a bus, or just any other place.
Infatuation is a strong liking that happens when you first spot someone.
In most cases, you will be in love with a person’s physical looks, interests, and personal traits.
This is what makes you feel like you want to hook up with them so badly.
Love is almost blinding at this stage.
In this stage, reality checks in.
Couples act naturally, and they share more things freely.
You begin to discover your partner’s weaknesses and strengths.
Naturally, couples will try fixing the issues, and sometimes real problems start.
If love survives dating, couples will enter into the partnership stage.
They may decide to move in together or enter into a more committed relationship.
At this stage, couples will share even the most intimate secrets, and they may disclose their ties to friends and family.
In this final stage, couples decide to start a lifetime relationship regardless of evident weaknesses.
They make plans together, learn to apologise and forgive, and start planning serious things like getting kids, building a career, and advancing their financial lives.
Cell phones play an essential role in the world of dating.
They help lovers keep in touch through voice calls, video chats, or short messages whenever they are separated by distance.
However, despite the benefits, excessive use of mobile phones, especially when you are around your lover, can reduce the attention you are supposed to give them.
In return, your partner will feel ignored and less critical.
Furthermore, phones can open the way to flirting and possible cheating.
While technology was supposed to improve the quality of life, there is little doubt that it has caused a fair share of relationship problems.
Technology ranks among the significant factors that lead to breakups and divorce.
Today, family members have little time to bond.
Instead, they spend that family time playing games, watching videos, listening to music or chatting with friends online.
It has robbed families of attention, bonding, and communication.
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Technology is mixed baggage of positives and negatives.
It has turned the once vast world into a global village.
People can catch up almost instantly with friends, relatives, and colleagues living far away.
On the downside, technology has shrunk the charm of the one-on-one talks that people enjoyed before technology.
Nowadays, many people spend their free time hooked on social media and other networking platforms.
With the reduced social interaction, people, more especially kids, couples, and teens, are left feeling isolated and less wanted.
Sometimes, kids end up looking for some connection with ulterior-motived people online.
Finding the right match online and connecting with them can be intensely thrilling.
However, at times, you may have a feeling of uncertainty.
If you find yourself in such a situation, don’t fret.
Many people with a successful online relationship were once there.
They say that with the right match, anyone can make their relationship work by communicating regularly, knowing each other well, video chatting, sharing gifts, and building intimacy.
But, it is worth noting that online relationships can end up, just like any other relationship.
They don’t always lead to a real relationship.
Social media, if used in moderation, isn’t toxic for a relationship.
It reduces physical distance for lovers staying far apart, and it gives lovers a break from their regular activities as they catch up with friends on social platforms.
Though, if not used in moderation, social media can be toxic to relationships.
It can lead to social media addiction, a vice that can lead to time wastage, social isolation, and decreased family time.
Apart from addiction, social media provides a free space for unhealthy comparison, and it paves the way for flirting, snooping, distrust, jealousy, or immorality.
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What was invented as a space for connecting and communicating with friends is now a serious threat to relationships.
In an article published on Surviving Divorce, 1 out of 7 divorces results from social media.
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Like any social media platform, Instagram can ruin a relationship.
It is a source of unrealistic marital expectations, which can lower your satisfaction in marriage.
Instagram addiction can lead to distrust, anxiety, and cheating.
However, Instagram isn’t all that bad as long as you use it responsibly.
With the right knowledge, we bet that you can traverse through the internet dating space successfully.
Just pick the right site or app, build an honest profile, search for somebody with qualities you love, connect, and date.
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