‘Purely for research purposes’ I convinced my boyfriend, I signed up for Lovestruck.com. I had seen the advert on the tube whilst traveling to work, so when asked to write about online dating I had the perfect idea. With a little help from Google images, and some cheeky comments in my bio I was all set up ready to get lovestruck online. Within 15 minutes I had received four messages, and nine guys ‘winking’ at me, (this is similar to poking on Facebook).
It was interesting to see the variety of people who were online looking for love, many who actually seemed pretty normal. As a non-single, I find it completely bizarre that people in London would actually have to sign up to a dating site to meet people. There are so many bars, clubs, restaurants and interesting places to hang out in and enjoy, surely singletons can find love somewhere in the city?
Apparently not. Having lived in London for six months now I have seen a fraction of the clubs and bars that the city has to offer, but as I have never been on the look out for a new man, I am yet to experience any disappointment. Reading through some of the profiles of the guys who ‘winked’ at me, it seems that they are tired of approaching girls in bars and realising they have nothing in common. For them, dating online seems to be the way forward, posting pictures, interests and a small biography to entice the opposite or same sex.
What happened to good old ‘courting’? Guys and girls used to meet and get married at 18 back in the good old days, our grandparents definitely didn’t meet online, and these are some of the most lasting relationships and marriages. As a modern culture we rely on Facebook to stay connected, use our smartphones to read the news and the internet to buy food, clothes and music. It seems that dating has taken that next step, from a real life experience to a virtual one. With websites such as Match.com boasting a statistic of ‘eight marriages a day’ alone, (whether or not this is true is a different matter), it is hard to think of reasons why online dating would not be a good idea.
Here in London, Lovestruck.com hosts events each month which gives its members the chance to meet young professionals in an easy going environment. If meeting up with someone you’ve met online seems a little dangerous, then these events are the ideal way to start something new, in a safe environment.
My profile on lovestruck was surprisingly successful, I was ‘winked’ at 61 times and received 30 messages from interested guys, unfortunately as I had not paid for a subscription I could not read them.
With Valentine’s Day long gone, singles come out of hiding and do not be afraid, perhaps it is actually easier to find love than we all thought, surely from 30 messages there was bound to be one decent guy?
We all love shopping online, so why not try dating online too. It you’re lovestuck try Lovestruck!
