Just like dating out in the real world, online dating has its own set of rules and customs. Quite often these rules will be the same, but in some cases there are a few guidelines you may want to follow that wouldn’t always apply to your everyday, offline life.
Online Etiquette versus Offline Etiquette
Some people may think that because you’re talking to someone online and you aren’t face to face, you don’t have to be polite. When chatting online, manners and courtesy may even be more important. Because all of your contact is through messaging and e-mail, a lot of your tone may be lost so acting even a little snotty could make you sound extremely rude. And if you don’t care how you sound, keep in mind that getting a bad online rep for yourself may limit your chances with some of the nicer guys out there.
Chivalry and Being a Lady
This isn’t old fashioned dating and you don’t have to wait for the guy you have your eye on to message you. Since he can’t see you batting your baby blues at him from across the room, sending the first message is perfectly acceptable. On an internet dating site, everyone is there to meet someone. Making the first move as a female is not only okay, it’s expected. You can make your profile stand out as much as you want, but there’s no way to know if he’ll ever stumble across it, so even if you want to still have a lady-like demeanor, send him a short and sweet message expressing some interest.
Be Honest and Be Yourself
It can be tempting to stretch the truth a little when talking to someone online since they have no way of seeing you or verifying who you are. However, if you have any intention of ever meeting up with anyone you’ve met from an online dating site, being honest is your best bet. It might be very difficult to try to explain yourself if any inconsistencies are discovered later on. Besides, if you’re trying to make a connection that could turn into something serious, wouldn’t you want them to be interested in the real you?
The main thing to stick to when dating online is just to be generally respectful. Sometimes you may get rejected, or you may reject someone else, but not everyone is going to be compatible and there shouldn’t be any hurt feelings. Accepting that someone may not be interested in you and being polite when turning someone else down will give you a much more positive online dating experience and will just get you that much closer to finding the right person.
