The Good

Most single people are now leveraging the internet to double-click their way into the heart of a soul mate. Due to the pervasive nature of the internet, they can search, sift and organise a date with their ideal partner from either a pc or laptop 24/7, anywhere and anytime.

The biggest advantage of online dating is that it offers singles the capability to get right down to business and sift through the thousands member profiles until someone catches their eye. No need to feel guilty by having to tell your new internet friend your not interested, you simply move onto the next profile. Chat rooms commonly provide singles another fantastic way of communicating with other singles and still allows you an easy out if need be.

Unline face-to-face dating, online dating is relatively cheap. One does not need to dress up, go to the hair-dresser in online dating or even go to an expensive restaurant in order to know the other party much better. In these recessioary times, this is more than a passing benefit. Forget the make up and after shave, online dating gives you the chance to win over your next date with just your personality alone via the chat rooms.

Then there are those whose professional activities contract their social time. All they have to do is to search for like minded singles in the chat rooms or via the member data base in a matter of minutes, fire off emails and chat invitations to those they find attractive, then simply go back to their normal daily routine. After some hours or days, they might find a nice surprise waiting for them in the inbox!

The Bad and the Ugly

The most obvious and immediate danger is the existence of perverts who forage online dating sites and post false biodata to lure unsuspecting singles. Most of these people are after NSA (no strings attached) casual relationaships that are nothing but glorified one-night stands. Caution is the by-word in online dating. Multi-tier "security" checks must be effected to filter out the perverts before an offline appointment is initiated.

A regular complaint some online dating members experience is that when they met their online dating friend in person, certain physical features were some what different to what was stated on their member profile. Their photos were not current, or were taken in a studio or sometimes wasn't even them. Those who watched the movie, Instant Message, can relate to the latter.