Ballpark Estimate: $25 to $60 per month
When it comes to dating in today’s modern world, a lot has changed in recent years. Just a decade ago, people relied on fate and the goodwill of friends to help them find a date. But today, advances in technology make it easier than ever before to weed through the pool of available singles right from your laptop to find that perfect mate.
Looking for Love in All the Right Places
If you’re single and don’t want to stay that way, you’ll be glad to know that there are a wide variety of resources to help pair you with other singles with similar interests. You don’t even have to leave your house but can search through the latest online dating services for a companion right from the comfort of your couch. Some of them take the process very seriously, while others sites make meeting people over the Internet a more lighthearted attempt. You can also select from websites that are more focused on people looking for casual encounters to those tailored for singles who are looking for a more serious commitment. Whatever you want in a mate, chances are that you can find it online with a little persistence.
Something for Everyone
The latest electronic search engines can make it easier than ever to help you to locate your best potential matches in the most convenient way. In fact, you can narrow your search down by some very specific characteristics in a way that would be difficult to duplicate in the real world. For instance, there an online dating sites strictly for people with strong religiousbeliefs and backgrounds who want to meet like-minded souls. Then there are sites that are tailored just to very tall people. There are also sites geared for people who are overweight, ones for singles who are over 50 and ones just for single parents. In addition, if you went to an Ivy League school, you can find several dating services that accept only Ivy League graduates. Or if biking is your thing, look for sites that cater to Harley riders. You can also find dating sites online that are career-specific. There are ones for lawyers and pilots and for members of the military, among other things.
Further, many Asian Indians who are ready for marriage rely on the array of online Matrimonial sites to help them find a suitable partner. These matrimonial sites differ from American dating sites in that marriage is always the ultimate goal, and they go beyond the limits of the Internet to also provide phone numbers of potential spouses and also place ads in Indian newspapers to attract more matches.
Finally, for American men who want to settle down but don’t want to go through the ups and downs of the dating process, there are websites that will help them find a Russian bride who is willing to move to the United States.
Online “Meat Market”
One of the biggest advantages to dating online is the fact that you have access to such a vast network of singles, so if Mr. or Ms. Right is out there, your odds are greater that you will meet.
And while each online dating service has its own style and technique, most of them work in a similar way. Typically, members create a personal profile, which is then added to a searchable database. In addition, members are asked to describe some of their interests and tastes. Some of the sites let you browse the database to look for other people with similar qualities. Many of them also use matching functions to pair you with people who would meet the criteria you seek in a potential mate. Some of the more popular online services have close to a million members or even more, located all across the country and even around the world.
Regardless of the hook that each site takes, the key to dating online is usually a personal photo, so people can see what you look like, and you can see them, to determine if any chemistry might be there, in much the same way it used to be done face to face. When you find someone you like, you usually email the person through the website and see if they are interested in taking the correspondence any further.
Pros
The benefits of using an online dating service include the fact that you can narrow your search down by whatever criteria matter to you. You also get a chance to see someone’s photo before you meet them, and can communicate online for a while before making any commitments to take things to the next step. In addition, the convenience of the Internet makes it easy to meet multiple people in one night even in sweatpants or pajamas.
Cons
With so many people online, you don’t know whom you are corresponding with, so you have to proceed very cautiously when giving out any personal information or making plans to meet in person for a date. Further, you want to read all of the terms of any contracts you sign with online dating services, to be sure you know what you are agreeing to and how you can cancel your membership if the service doesn’t end up meeting your needs.
Cost of Finding True Love Today
The cost of finding true love today can vary widely. When it comes to Internet dating services, keep in mind that price isn’t everything. In fact, the more a website charges its members, the higher the caliber of other people you are likely to come across, so spending more may result in a higher chance of success.
Online dating services usually charge a monthly rate, which starts as low as $25 and goes up to about $60.
Some of these online services will offer you a free trial period, where you can browse the database to see other members, but you usually have to sign up before you can contact anyone directly. Once you have a message waiting for you from a potential date, you are much more likely to be willing to ante up the money. It’s also important to note that experts recommend that when you do sign up, start with just a monthly rate and see how it goes, rather than committing to a longer membership and getting stuck for the cost even if you don’t like it. That being said, though, you can usually get a much better deal if you are willing to sign up for a longer period, such as six months or a year. Further, keep in mind that many of the popular websites make it difficult to find out just how much they will charge you for membership up front. They try to get your personal information entered into their site through a free trial membership before they give you any price rates.
A Free Ride?
Finally, while it’s true that there is little in life today that is free, some of the online singles chat rooms and boards can also be a good way to meet potential partners, and many of them don’t cost anything. So don’t rule these options out if your budget is tight but you really want to find someone to date. There are numerous success stories posted online about people who met their spouses this way without spending anything.