Who would have thought yesterday, that in the not so
distant future, people would be checking computers to meet
friends, pen-pals, play-mates or significant others? That
thought was as foreign as the one we had about walking on
the moon! Yet, that is exactly what we are doing today. In
the early year of 2002, the number of people checking
dating websites on the internet went from over 11 million
to over 35 million by the end of that same year! Modern
times, distance, stressful jobs, hardly any social lives
has made us resort to meeting people on the internet.

It is a fact that over 40 percent of all the single adults
in America, or the equivalent of approximately 45 million
people, by the middle of the year 2003, have visited online
dating sites. The distrust that was attached to the dating
online websites has been replaced by an innumerable
abundance of them and are considered safe, reliable and
popular. Some of the reasons to consider why someone would
be turning to the web who is seriously looking for their
special someone, are these. People tend to believe that the
majority of those who go to online dating are the young,
when in reality, the top group, in terms of growth, are
women, 35 to 44 years old, followed by men 35 to 44 years
old, then the next growing group are men and women between
the ages of 45 to 54, this is according to Yahoo, Inc.,
September of 2002.)

Out of today's population, more than 20 million are
divorcees. The Internet dating websites are one of the best
ways for these people who wish to move on to look.

How good do you think your chances of meeting mister or
miss right on the street would be? Would you dare approach
a person who happens to catch you eye, and ask them for
his/her phone number because you would like to get to know
them? Before you finally met your soul-mate, how many times
would you be able to do something like this.

Online dating offers you the simplicity of subscribing to
the site that feels right for you, once you have done that,
it is a matter of going online, checking out as many
profiles as you wish, the majority have photos, then you
start by sending a short e-mail to those you feel have
possibilities because of their looks, or their profiles are
interesting, they sound intelligent, and live within a 25
mile radius.

As our jobs, distances, lack of time and other factors
become an issue that interferes with our social lives, and
as people trust and depend on the internet dating websites
more and more for meeting others, millions, men and or
women, are realizing that the dating websites are the most
effective and practical conduit to meet someone. The
possibilities are endless. On this note, get rid of your
fears or negative thoughts about online dating and we
encourage you to give it try for.

Pros and Cons of online dating adverts fill our inbox, ads
appear on a large percentage of the websites we visit, and
they even, on occasion, show up on our television screens.
Because of the percentage of people turning to the Internet
for a date, it is important to keep in mind the pros and
cons to online dating.

PROS: One of the biggest advantages to online dating, is
the vast number of people who have signed up on dating
websites looking for their one and only. This allows you to
meet more people who are interested in dating, quickly or
not. Online dating websites give you more choices in who
you meet, because you are given the opportunity to browse
through countless of online profiles with or without
pictures (you can always request a picture/s) before
deciding who you would like to start communicating with.
You can also abstain from communicating with someone if you
so choose, while still remaining anonymous.

The opportunity is much higher for you to get to know the
person you are interested in, because their profile gives
you an idea of the person's personality, interests, likes,
dislikes, ethnicity, religious background and so on before
you get to meet them in person. Email and instant messaging
are also popular methods for people to communicate with
each other. The cell phone is also practical, (do not
recommend giving your home number while in the first stages
of getting acquainted).

Another reason why online dating is so popular is because
it eliminates the fear of the rejection factor as well as
the social awkwardness that one might feel when meeting
someone new, because initial interaction is anonymous
throughout most online dating websites.

CONS: There are still people who will join dating sites
just to look at profiles, even if they are not interested
in dating. So you may be interested in his/her profile but
he/she won't be interested in yours. The numbers of women
who have joined the online websites far outnumber the
number of men. Good for the men who have joined.

The number of online dating users who misrepresent
themselves is quite high. The anonymity of such sites gives
them this opportunity. Most often it is about their
appearance, age, economic status, and even gender. Single
does not always mean what it should. Some people claim to
be single when in fact they are still married or in the
process of a divorce.

Online scams are very prevalent on the Internet and it is
seeping onto the online dating websites. Users will fill
out a profile in order to collect addresses and in turn try
and scam them out of money. The only thing you can do is to
protect yourself first. That old saying, "if it sounds too
good to be true it probably is", carries over into online
dating. Be cautious of who you meet and where; and always
let a friend or family member know where you will be. While
there are many wonderful success stories of couples who
have met online, there are just as many disappointing
stories of first meetings that never turned into second
ones.

For singles without children, dating is hard and stressful
as it is, but for single parents, it is that much more
difficult, since you must consider the welfare of your
child or children. This does not mean that you must live
your life alone until the kids become adults and move out.
It is possible to combine single parenting and dating.

The first thing about single parents and dating is the need
to be realistic. A single person with no kids has a bigger
playground to play in, so to speak. A playground to a
single parent is a lot smaller with a lot less toys to
choose from. A lot of people have made the choice of not
having any children of their own. Whatever their reasons,
it is a choice that is very personal. You must be extra
careful and selective as a single parent, because the
person you date may one day be a part of your child's or
children's life's. Therefore, if it is online dating where
you are looking for your future partner, when completing
your profile, answer truthfully and state the number of
children you have, this way the person viewing your profile
will have the option of wanting to meet you, or not.

Single parents usually look for other single parents to
date. Having children yourself should make you open to
dating others who also have children. This is also a part
of reality. While you may not have thought about expanding
your family, meeting someone with a child or two, might do
just that. As a single parent who is dating you need to be
open minded as to what is available out there. That does
not mean you need to settle for someone under your
expectations, or standards.

Being a single parent can be difficult depending on the age
of your child or children. When you have small children who
may need babysitting services when you go out, your going
out times may turn out to be few and far between. Having
children usually turns you neglectful of your personal
needs and soon you may start feeling alone and isolated.
You now don't know where to begin when you are ready to
date. As a single parent you may often have serious doubts
as to whether someone will wish to date you when they learn
you have a child or children.

Although the home situation is very important, a person who
will date a single parent needs to focus on the person they
are dating rather than on the home situation. The domestic
situation is, of course, important, but it is not who that
person is.