For a long time now we have been told that online dating sites are the perfect alternative to traditional dating. With the advent of the internet came online dating sites and they were often seen as the best way for any singles struggling with traditional dating to meet new people.
People loved to jump on an online dating site feeling hopeful and enthusiastic about their chances of finding love. This is what got everybody excited and it gave many singles a renewed sense of hope.
Generally, people of all ages tend to use online dating sites. However, it tends to be younger people that gravitate towards online dating more than middle aged or mature people.
It is also appealed to people of a particular lifestyle; by that we mean people who live a busy life, are very focused on their careers, so therefore they struggle to make the time for dating.
Once upon a time it was a win-win situation for all concerned. The singles of the world had an exciting new way to meet other singles and the dating companies were able to provide great business.
Things have slowly started to take a turn for the worse though.
How Online Dating Is Not All It Seems To Be
It seems hard to believe that public dissatisfaction with online dating sites is growing when you consider how popular it once was.
Consider this fact. Cupid Plc (which is made up of Cupid.com, Flirt.Com, UniformDating.com, Girlsdateforfree, Maturedating, FriendsoverFifty, FriendsreunitedDating and LoveBeginsAt.com) has recently announced £3m in pre-tax losses, plus the loss of more than half of their paying clients (down from 113,000 to 48,000 over the year). Consider what this means for the company and the current landscape of online dating, because this news is huge.
This fact alone demonstrates that the trend to use paying online dating sites is declining.
Now what has spurred this current change? That is what we need to look at. Cupid is a paying service online but they have recorded some significant losses in revenue.
It is easy to say that perhaps it is the economy or various other factors, and to simply discount these findings but perhaps there is more to it than that.
If we dig a little deeper we’ll see that there is more to this growing public dissatisfaction than what it seems.
Let’s look at it this way, what we do know is that whilst paying online dating sites are struggling to attract new users, the free based online sites are having no difficulty at all.
Then we have the free smartphone apps like Grindr and Tinder. These smartphone apps offer a certain level of convenience that the paying online dating sites simply cannot offer.
Not to mention they have an ease of use that cannot be matched by online dating sites.
There is also a growing trend towards casual sex for many users of smartphone apps and the free online dating sites and this is important to consider. So whilst the free online dating sites and smartphone apps are attracting more users than paid online dating sites, it’s important to note this growing trend for casual sex.
Online Dating Simply Doesn’t Meet The Demand Of Singles Who Want A Real Relationship
Ultimately, what this all means is that online dating is not exactly the best way to meet a real partner for a committed relationship.
Whilst these new smartphone apps and free dating sites are meeting the demand for casual sex, they aren’t meeting the demand for singles that want a real relationship.
Singles who want a real relationship need more than this and the reality is that online dating sites, free or paid, and smartphone apps are not going to help singles find a real partner.
Let’s look at it this way.
It is a fact that many dating sites contain fake profiles and there have been cases of identity fraud, monetary fraud, and many other problems. Not to mention the fact that you can’t always be sure that someone you meet online is always looking for the same thing you are – basically whether or not they are genuine with their intentions.
People who are serious about finding love have certain demands that are not always met by any online dating site, whether it’s paid or free, or any smartphone app.
Think about it this way.
If you are serious about finding love do you want to be wasting your time with people who aren’t serious? Do you want to be interacting with people who don’t want what you want? Do you want your private details to be public information?
Of course not! And that is where a lot of this public dissatisfaction regarding online dating has stemmed from. The online dating sites and smartphone apps simply aren’t meeting the demand of singles that want a relationship. We know that there have been some very public cases of fraud that have occurred from people who have met using online dating sites.
Whilst it’s easy to say that this is just an unfortunate mishap, it would almost be untrue to look at it this way
There is a deeper problem that results in these kinds of unfortunate incidents.
The problem with many of these online dating sites is that there is no requirement to vet a members’ personal information, verified their ID, and basically making sure they are who they say they are.
This is the kind of process that would filter out people who aren’t serious about finding love but online dating sites want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. And this is where the problem can stem from.
Without a rigorous vetting process you will always get cases of fraud, people claiming to be someone they’re not, and time wasters in general.
Traditional Dating Is Still The Best Way To Meet Singles Looking For Love
Overall, what this all means is that the traditional model of dating is far from over. Many people may have thought that with the beginning of the internet and dating sites that traditional dating would lose its appeal. The opposite has happened though because with all the dissatisfaction people are feeling towards paying online dating sites, there is a renewed sense of hope for traditional dating.
More than ever people are now realising that the future of paying online dating sites is grim.
If you want a safe and sure way of dating then online dating seems like it would be one of the worst options to choose, and this is reflected by the growing public dissatisfaction of online dating sites.
At the end of the day you can’t beat real world dating where you can meet people in the real world. This is the most genuine and authentic way to meet your next partner.
