Can love be found online?

Can love be found online?

There is much said these days concerning the pitfalls of using the Internet. You need only pick up a newspaper, or magazine. Switch on the television. Or listen to the radio to hear the horror stories.

So bearing this in mind, why would anyone look online for love? Is it in fact at all possible to connect with genuine people in this way? Success stories linked to the Internet are not unheard of. However first you must brush aside the love at first type tales. Yes these may happen, but not nearly often enough to make them of interest to us.

Many people talk of the net as a dangerous menace and one that should be avoided at all costs. The Internet is like any major city, in that it has its beauty spots and its ghettos. Its high points and its fair share of lows. When it comes to the users we find online. Well these are the same people we might see on the street. An assortment of individuals from all walks of life. The reasons for going online and surfing the net are as numerous as the cars on our busy roads.

If we look for romantic success stories of those who met via the Internet. We must look a little deeper than we might at first anticipate. Before we go any further we must look at the types of sites out there and which ones should be avoided.

If you are a regular Internet user, you will be only too familiar with the popup ads that cause so much annoyance. Many of these advertisements are for singles and dating agencies. These are much the same as their magazine equivalent. Okay if you don’t mind playing the occasional game of Russian roulette, but far from sure-fire ways of meeting like-minded people.

Much the same can be said of chat rooms. These are often categorised by age and interest. However you can never honestly know if Blake 32 from New York who is speaking to you in the 30+ chat room, is not Jim from Leeds aged 59 and out for fun.

We all have our interests, hobbies and pastimes and it is through these that we are most likely to meet a future partner. Whilst we can never be one hundred percent certain that the person we are speaking to online, is in fact who they say they are. We can make sure of a number of things.

Here is a little scenario to show you how this works. Jenny is a hairdresser from London. She loves clubbing & extreme sports. Her favourite movies are comedies and she loves travelling. Because of her interests, she is armed with intimate knowledge concerning them. Her choices of web exploration are vast, if we consider the websites available on her favourite topics.

By joining discussion groups and forums on these themes she will be able to achieve two things. She’ll be able to meet like-minded people and share the things that have meaning in her life. She will also be able to avoid for the most part ever encountering the many pests and menaces that roam cyberspace. For one thing very few people who had no interest in extreme sports would join a group on the subject. And even if they did. How long would it be before their obvious lack of knowledge betrayed them?

When you join a group, or forum online, you are given the opportunity to come up with your own unique nickname and password. Many people choose to use their own
name and simply add numbers to it. However there is no reason why Jenny shouldn’t call herself AngelEyes for example. Most groups and forums also give each member a profile page. Never put your email address, home address, telephone numbers or other personal information on this. Any other site user is able to call this profile up and see your information.


Before you decide to meet anyone in the real world there are a few basic precautions to consider.

When meeting up with a stranger for the first time, always tell a friend, or relative where you are going and at what time.

Arrange to meet in a crowded public place. 

Be careful not to give out your address on the date, if you feel uneasy at all.

If you are in a pub, or bar be aware at all times of your drink and do not leave it unattended, as it could be spiked.

Make sure you have either a taxi booked, or a lift organized to get you home safely.

Treat the meeting as you would any blind date.

So if its love you are seeking. Look first for friendship. Allow yourself the luxury of getting to know others online, over a good few months. At least three months and preferably six. This time will give you the chance to see the other person in all their varied moods, from happy to sad and everything in between.

The one thing to bear in mind above all else is, romance and love can never be found. They find you and always when you least expect it. All things considered at the very least by using this method you will make new friends and broaden your social scene.

Ends