The reality of modern day living is that social media has come to take a dominant place in our lives and we are prone to conduct our relationships via phone calls, text, emails, Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp …. The beat goes on.
This mode of interaction has raised questions about how the internet is impacting our social lives for good or ill. It cannot be denied that the internet has made it easier for people to connect and keep in touch. But is this connectivity taking the ‘connection’ out of romantic relationships? Regardless of which side of the argument you are on, we all want to be in healthy relationships.
Here are some tips to make sure your online relationships are healthy:
- Don’t pay to join a dating site. With so many social sites available like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc. there is really no reason for most people to pay to join a dating site. Some people may like the idea of their ‘matches’ being screened by someone else, but for the most part it’s probably an unnecessary step… and there is a cost attached to this.
- It is important to tread with caution when you first meet someone online. There is no need to be excited and carried away. Easy does it. Slow things down. You may begin to communicate with just email if you want to take things slowly. If you then become comfortable with each other, you can start instant messaging, then progress to Skype or other types of video chats. The point is that with an online relationship both of you have a lot more control over the pace of the relationship, and this can actually help you build a very solid relationship.
- As the online relationship develops, there may come a time when you need to meet “offline” – in the real world. Most people want and need human contact, so a rational progression of an online relationship will be to move the relationship into the physical world. If the person you are dating online is reluctant to do this, it could be a red flag. Maybe they are already in a relationship with someone, or maybe they have issues that make them fear a real-world relationship.
- When the two of you do decide it’s time to meet offline, don’t ever forget that the person you’ve been chatting with and getting to know may not really be the person they say they are. Many people have a different online profile to their real life one. That’s one of the drawbacks of online relationships, people can lie about who they are. Always arrange to meet them in a public place even though you may have spent months getting to know each other online.
- When you actually meet, it would be almost like starting from scratch. Take it slowly, and get to know the person better in the physical space.
Use the information in this article to make sure that the relationship you have is a good and healthy one, and as in all things in life proceed with caution.