Online dating is hugely popular within this day and age, whether it’s swiping left or right on people’s tinder profiles, reading their Hinge prompts or even sliding into someone’s Instagram DM’s, there are so many different ways to meet people romantically online.
Regardless if it’s via dating apps or social media, meeting new people and getting yourself into the dating pool is not without its challenges.
Here at Urban Student Life , we’re experts on online dating so we’ve put together this post on top tips for students so you’ll be a dating pro in no time at all!
Top Tips For Online Dating
Online dating has become the norm to meet new people, and the vast majority of singletons will have at least a few dating apps downloaded if they’re looking for a relationship or want to casually date.
Navigating through the online dating world can be difficult and intimidating, especially if you’re not used to it or you’re newly single.
1. Be Honest
When it comes to online dating, the most important thing to remember is to be honest about what you want.
Are you looking for a relationship? Are you looking to meet new people? Or are you unsure about what you want? Any of these answers are okay!
Whilst you don’t need to immediately tell people on dating apps or dating sites what you’re after, you should be honest when the time is right, or when you go on a date.
If you’re not ready to start dating, don’t rush into the process and go on dates for the sake of it or because your friends are telling you to get out there.
2. Choose The Right Platform
There are an abundance of dating apps and websites out there, so it’s a good idea to find the right one for you.
Tinder, Hinge and Bumble tend to be the top 3 online dating apps that people use, but there are plenty of others out there, along with platforms exclusively for members of the LGBT+ community and university students as well as others.
Whilst you can make a profile on however many platforms you like, it gets a bit challenging trying to keep up with them, and each has different features.
3. Patience Is Key
Our next tip for online dating is to be patient, like they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day and this same thing applies here.
It could take a few months for you to find success on a dating app or site, so don’t feel disheartened if it’s not going as you had initially thought straight away – all good things take time.
Instead of wondering why you’re struggling to get any matches or wondering why none of the dates you’ve been on went anywhere, focus on yourself and enjoy your own company.
Whilst being patient is important, it’s also good to keep an open mind when online dating as you need to spend some time getting to know someone for there to be a spark.
Be flexible when looking for people to date, and try not to be judgemental when viewing people’s dating profiles, they may be different in real life – people aren’t profiles!
4. Meet Up When You’re Ready
When talking to potential dates online, you may feel like you need to meet up as soon as possible to see if you both get on as well as you appear to, or if you’re as attracted to them IRL.
Whilst the conversation can get dry if you spend a long period chatting to each other online before meeting in person, you should only meet up with people when you’re ready.