Maybe you have a friend or co-worker who met someone online. Perhaps you are wondering whether online dating will work for you. You're not alone! Trying to find out whether online dating works or not is something that every individual must answer for themselves. You see, just because a friend or acquaintance was successful at meeting someone through an online personals site doesn't mean that everyone will be successful. You probably find that statement a little unusual coming from a site that provides online dating advice and support, but online dating requires some effort in order to really make it work.  Just like many things in life, the more effort YOU are willing to put into your online dating efforts the greater your chance of success. Let's start by examining three simple questions that will indicate whether online dating is likely to work for you.

Question #1 - Are you willing to put some effort into making online dating work?

Being successful at online dating really comes down to how much you're willing to put into actually meeting someone online. Some people feel that all they have to do is join an internet dating site and they willmagically meet the man or woman of their dreams. If it were only that easy. Compare two typical online daters and see which one you think will have better luck.  Online Dater #1 joins a site and spends a good deal of time drafting up a personal profile.  This person realizes that putting time and effort into creating a great profile will benefit them later so they spend the time to do this right.  Now, not everyone can draft a great dating profile, but learning how to write a good online personal ad is not that difficult.  Online Dater #2 joins the same site and creates a profile that just says, "Hi, What's Up?" 

Online Dater #1 realizes that a picture is worth a thousand words so this person researches some tips for adding photos to online personal ads and posts several photos that show off their best features.  Even Online Dater #2 realizes that there needs to be a photo alongside their profile so they take a quick snapshot with the camera on their cell phone and upload it. The lighting's bad, the angle is bad and it's kind of dark.  That doesn't' matter according to Online Dater #2.

Online Dater #1 actually spends time on their chosen dating site and learns how to use all of the available features. This includes contacting other members, responding to emails and winks, reading some of the online dating tips provided for free by the site. Their familiarity with the features makes it easy for them to interact with other members and to navigate the website successfully. Online Dater #2 visits the site once a week and wonders why nobody has contacted them yet. 

Guess what? Online Dater#1 starts to meet and interact with other members of the dating site and starts going on actual dates. This person eventually meets someone they want to spend more time with and is very pleased with their online dating experience. Online Dater #2 never meets anyone and gets frustrated.  Now, how do you think each person will answer the question: Does Online Dating Really Work? Online Dater #1 will probably say it's great and it works. Online Dater #2 will probably believe it does not work at all.

So you see, online dating can work but a lot depends on how much effort you are willing to put into it. Two different people on the same dating site can (and do) often get very different results.

Question #2 - What do you hope to get out of online dating?

Understanding your online dating goals can go a long way to determining if online dating will work for you, as well. So ask yourself what you hope to gain from your online dating experience.  Do you want a casual friend to chat with online? Are you looking for someone to hang out with? DO you hope to find a serious relationship? Understanding what it is you want from an online dating site will help you choose the right online dating site for you and put you in the company of other people who are using online dating for the same reasons.

By selecting the right dating site you have already increased your odds of success because you will be with people who are looking for the same type of relationship as you. And the way you select the right dating site is to ask yourself what you want from an online dating site in the first place.

Question #3 - Are you willing to keep an open-mind?

Don't let one bad experience deter you from trying online dating ever again.  One of the biggest hurdles that some people must face is allowing a previous disappointment or a bad experience prevent them from ever trying this again.  Perhaps the bad experience was due to picking the wrong dating site. Perhaps it was something else.  In either case, you have to be resilient. Don't settle on the first dating site you come across - try a bunch of different sites.  There's really no excuse for NOT trying more than one online dating site.  Between all the great online dating offers like the Free membership from Loveawake to the 15% discount that Match.com is offering for a limited time only there is absolutely no excuse for not trying different internet personals sites to see which one is right for you.

Conclusion

So, to answer the question: Does Online Dating Really Work? once and for all here's the answer: IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU! Don't leave this page without taking the first step to see if online dating will really work for you.