Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Online Dating - Holiday Edition Pt. 2


By now you have uploaded your picture(s) to the site.  I can only imagine how many views you have received.  Well over 100 I know!  For me, the most aggravating feature on a dating website are..."Flirts".

  Flirts

 As I have learned, “flirts” are brief pre-written words (usually less than 5 words) potential suitors send to see if you are interested in them.   They are cheesy in content and usually go something like …”I’m Interested in you”, or “Great Photo!” and if the potential suitor is bold enough, they may send a flirt with “Flowers”.  Now tell me, what is a person to do with that?  Usually the first thing one does is click on the sender’s profile to view the picture and to read what they have written about themselves.  If the receiver likes what they see and read, they send a flirt back using the same cheesy 5 words that were sent to them.  This, believe it or not, opens the door for dialogue. 

As this is one of the main ways to break the ice and create dialogue, it very often ends there.  Let’s say that you viewed the sender’s profile, and liked the photo and the bio, you respond back in a timely manner…and you NEVER hear from them again!  What is that all about?  Why even send the dumb thing, if you are never going to respond back? 

Here's another scenario, let’s say you received a flirt November 14th and you respond back on the 16th, you’re then thinking that you should hear back from this guy in about 2 to 3 days,  a week tops. As it turns out, he sends his reply back on December 14th!  It has been a month from the initial mutual contact.  You can pretty much figure that his subscription will end at 12:01 that night and he  is racing against the clock to respond back before he has to pay another $28.99 to respond to a flirt he should have answered 3 weeks ago.  I tell you…it’s crazy. 

Messages

If you dislike flirts, you can opt to just send them a message.  The same thing can happen when responding and sending messages, that’s why for an extra $3.99 per month, you can confirm that the person received/opened your message.   For an additional $3.99, I can go to McDonald’s a get a 3 piece Mighty Wings meal, sit in front of my television and watch  “The Voice” in the privacy of my living room!  I’ve already spent $28.99 for the one month of service on the site, and now there is a fee to see if someone opens my email? Ain’t Nobody Got No Time For That!

The Meet

Finally, after the flirt, the messages, the exchange of telephone numbers and a telephone conversation or two, you should meet in person.  You should do this sooner rather than later.  A prolonged meeting is a “Red Flag”.  If the person is not willing to meet you within a week of talking, cut all communications.   Why let them fill your head with gum drops and lollipops, if they stall and avoid meeting you?  It’s not worth your energy, something is up.

Your first meet should be simple, informal.  It should also be in a place where there are people around like a coffee shop.  College students are always in coffee shops!  It should be a place where there are enough people who notice when you come in and when you leave, but not so many people there that you can’t hear each other nor can anyone hear what you are saying.  Most importantly, be safe and know your surroundings. 

If the first meet goes well, then you are on your way to finding out more about them, if not, and then tactfully thank them while getting ready to make your exit.

Closing the Loop

If the meet did not go as expected and you find that you are not interested in spending time with this person, tell them.  More than likely a follow up telephone call will come the next day, or perhaps you can call the next day thanking them for meeting with you.  Be tactful but truthful.  Remember, the same words you say to a person, another person may say to you.  Karma is a b*&$#!  You may say something like:  “Thank you for meeting me last night, but I feel that I do not want to pursue a second date”.   This closes the loop and the person will know exactly where they stand.  And for goodness sake, don’t say “maybe we can be friends”.  These days and times the word “friends” has an entirely different meaning.

Online dating can be frustrating and even a little scary.  You never know who is at the other end of that mouse or behind that monitor.  Dating has changed so much since this online tool has come into our lives, and appears that gone are the days where you were guaranteed to meet a person by just being out and about.  Use good judgment, never let anyone pressure you into doing or going anywhere that you do not feel comfortable and always, always be safe.

Happy holidays and dating.


Peace and blessings,
Phaedra


 

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