By: Terje Ellingsen
Online romances or relationship dating has been more and more common in recent years. In older days men and women met in clubs, restaurants, bars, at work as well as simply taking a jog or walk. Newspaper and magazine classified ads took over and now the internet has become one of the biggest markets for love and relationships. I don't know how many dating websites there are out there, but if the number exceeds five digits, it doesn't surprise me at all. In today’s busy society, online dating is an easy and convenient way to link couples together and even though this may seem like an unromantic way to date, an amazingly large number of dates are done this way and the online dating industry is growing rapidly as well. So there must be something positive about it.
Yes, there are many positive aspects with dating on the internet. Statistics however, tell that many relationships created through the internet are broken. So what should we be aware of in order to utilize this way of romance as well as possible and which mistakes in the online relationship building process should we avoid?
Have you ever chatted with Madonna? Or Britney Spears? Or maybe George Clooney? Are you the most careful and tolerant person on earth; is that the image you try to give of yourself. What if the relationship became serious and you were caught in such a simple lie? My advice is that you should not pretend to be another person than you are but be honest from the very first meeting if your purpose is to build a serious love relationship.
Another mistake many people dating online make is to meet in person too soon. You don't know the person you date online, and you should exchange several emails or chat for an extensive period of time before you even consider meeting. For example this male person can be violent and even abuse you, even though he made the total opposite impression. You should also do some phone calls before you meet. The point, is that you should do all you can to know each other before you meet. This way, the safety issue has been more properly taken care of.
When you meet for the first time, do it in a neutral place, like a restaurant, cafe or other places where people meet. During the first weeks of the relationship, always tell family members or friends when and where you are going to meet the potential partner, whether this is in the partner’s home or other places. If something should happen, they'll know where you are, and the chances are better for avoiding a tragedy. When your network of friends and family has been introduced to your partner, and you start to feel sure that this is a really promising relationship, then you should go to the next level.
It's all about confidence, so don't jump into it in the beginning, give time for getting to know your potential partner before your engage seriously and the relationship is much more likely to become a real romance and a great and long lasting relationship.
