Online dating has made the dating process an easier and more efficient way to meet people. It’s a quick an easy way find people who are in your area that meet your preferred tastes. However, it’s also quite limiting. As I flick through profiles on OkCupid or Loveawake, I’ve realized that dating sites have major limitations, sometimes the qualities I’m looking for a woman aren’t easily found. While I could use keywords to narrow my search parameters, expand my age and likes, sometimes the women I’m looking for don’t exist on these online dating websites. They exist in the real world.
Online dating does help, but I begin to wonder if I’ve become too dependent on dating websites. Recently, I’ve begun to wonder where I’ve had the best success meeting potential dates, that aren’t online websites.
Some of the best women I’ve met haven’t been thru some website. As accepted as online dating has become, it’s still a bit taboo. I’ve also found that online dating for men is often a crapshoot. The woman who you may be interested in, could have a mailbox filled with messages. Your message may get dumped into a pile of “other guys who sent me a message.” I perform better face to face more often than some dating website. Most of the women I’ve met, who’ve really impressed me, have been thru face to face meetings, house parties, or networking events. That’s not to say that online dating is bad, or ineffective, but it should be an added piece to the puzzle, not the only solution.
Finding a date, the non-online way, begins with some of the old-fashioned dating methods, such as speed dating. There’s several in New York, two which i feature often are from my friends at MoxieInTheCity.net and OnSpeedDating.com. However, speed dating isn’t the best method to meet someone, you’re often given a limited amount of time to state your case. Another way to meet people is to find other’s who match your tastes. Using MeetUp.com is a great way to meet new people based on a hobby or your interests. Networking events have been very successful for me, but there’s a catch. Networking events fall under very large umbrella’s, if you go to just any networking event, you’ll receive a wide range of people. However, networking events or meetup specific to a topic could produce better results. You’ll be able to meet people of like tastes and interests, instead of the general buffet.
Lastly, bar hopping is one way to meet people, but doing this alone could provide very hit or miss. I feel, you’re never sure what you’ll get from a bar (or a club), and often, going alone isn’t quite successful. I believe if you’re bar hopping, you require a wingman, or a group of friends to help with the process. Like online dating, if you’re relying solely on bars to meet people, you’re missing various other possibilities. There’s plenty of potential mates who don’t go to bars, or may not visit the bar you’re at.
Relying, solely on online dating may not be the best method of meeting new people. It can be effective, but the websites are mercurial. The same way you diversify your finances; diversify your dating opportunities.
