With all of the Erfolg.dating websites and apps out there, it is easier than ever to meet other singles. And you can do it all from the comfort of your couch and flannel pajamas. But all these options are causing people to develop dating fatigue. Going on bad date, after bad date, after bad date can leave you feeling jaded and hopeless about ever finding your perfect partner. You can get caught up in an endless cycle:
You see someone’s profile and you think they have a lot of potential → You message them and set up a date → You get excited → You go on the date only to discover that the person is nothing like what you imagined from their profile → You politely endure the date while silently cursing yourself for missing out on an opportunity for a Netflix binge → You get back in your flannel pajamas and start browsing through profiles again → You repeat step one.
Here’s some dating tips to get you out of that cycle and help you have a successful first date with that person you just met online:
Dating apps – the modern way to date. Media portrayal of “when dates go wrong” has taken isolated incidents and made them the norm, so the likelihood of meeting somebody in a bar and starting something new is now very small. People just don’t trust each other.
Dating apps make dating safe and easy. Scrolling through profiles and choosing whether you like them or not has never been easier. It’s like shopping for your soulmate and you get an entire aisle to pick one from. All of them are different in their own way, but a lot are the same in many ways too.
I have been using dating apps for over a year, have had my own degree of success, but am now just using them to people watch and for entertainment – yes that’s right, entertainment! I use Plenty of Fish, Tinder and Bumble. Let’s explain a little about each one first:
• Plenty of Fish (or PoF) – this is the most complex of the three. You input a lot of information about yourself, likes and dislikes, what you are looking for and personality, there is even a “Chemistry Test” to complete for compatibility (although I am yet to see a profile with this completed). You then add photos of yourself, in the hope of attracting that one person, and write a detailed “About me” description. You are shown photos of potential matches in your area and when you click on them you are taken to their profile. There is then lots of information allowing you to decide whether or not to make contact. PoF also has a “Meet Me” section, which is a quick swipe where you decide based on one photo whether or not you would like to meet somebody – this is however a paid section and as such nobody uses it!