If you’ve been using online dating for a while, you might wonder what it does to your mental health. This article will reveal that. We’ll look at some expert’s opinions and discover how dating online affects people of different ages. But first, let’s see why it is so popular.
How the Popularity of Online Dating Can be Explained?
In the last 10 years, online dating transformed from something only desperate weirdos does to something everybody does. At least, that’s how society sees online dating. It has never been for weirdos, but yes, everybody does it today. There are a lot of reasons for the popularity of online dating, we’ll highlight just a couple:
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- it allows you to connect with people all around the world
- it cures loneliness (researchers might not agree with this, but more about it later)
- you can do it 24/7 – for some people, it becomes a sort of a hobby
- people see their friends have success, so they want to try
- it makes finding a relationship (casual or serious) much easier – at least that’s the word on the streets, but what do experts have to say about online dating and mental health.
Using dating apps and websites provides access to a wide range of potential partners, allowing people to connect with those who share similar interests, going beyond their usual social groups. The ease of looking through profiles, chatting, and assessing compatibility without leaving home has greatly changed how people date. Still, among the many trustworthy platforms available, you might ask, “Is it worth buying an Ashley Madison account?” This question delves into the complexity of ethics, trust, and personal intentions when it comes to seeking connections online.
What do Researchers Say About This?
Since online dating is becoming the most popular way to meet new people, various studies have been conducted. Results will shock you and make you think twice about using dating apps, but at the end of this article, we’ll give you advice about using dating sites without losing your mind. Psychologists agree that being a member of one or more dating sites puts your mental health at a big risk. Because of the reasons we’ll now mention, we (following what experts said) advise you to skip online dating if your mind isn’t strong enough. To know is your mind capable of surviving the adventure of online dating, ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I take rejection?
- Do I expect online dating to give results immediately?
- Am I doing this to escape loneliness?
- Am I gullible?
Be honest with yourself; your mental health is in play. If your answer to the first question is “no”, and it’s “yes” to any of the rest – think twice before registering because:
- Experts agree that chatting with so many people leads to a lot of rejection. Those are numbers; even Brad Pitt would face rejection on a site. Being rejected day after day might crush your spirit and mental health. But there is a trick. In the last paragraph, we’ll show you a mental technique that will protect you from bad feelings caused by rejection, forever, 100%.
- According to researchers, a lot of new users expect results immediately because they’re confident and good-looking. That leads to frustration because, in the world of online dating, you chat with a lot of people, but not all of them are your perfect matches.
- Online dating might seem like the best solution for loneliness, but if you join it and don’t meet anybody good, you’ll stay alone, become frustrated, and develop the fear of rejection. You may even become depressed because you’ll think something is wrong with you. It isn’t. You’re fine, that’s just an effect online dating can have.
- If you believe everything you see and hear, you’ll most likely fall for a fake profile on a dating site. Please, don’t do that. Experts claim that being fooled by someone on a dating site can lead to trust issues.
What is the Difference in the Impact of Online Dating at Various Ages?
Let’s look at the difference in online dating’s impact on people who use dating sites for mature people and those who think online dating is only for youngsters. Surprisingly, the research from 2018 showed that 43% of Millennials think that technology is making it harder to get dates. What’s even more surprising is that seniors claim online dating makes finding dates simpler than ever.
That’s not the only difference between young and older users. Senior users are experienced in life so they know everything takes time. They don’t expect to be on a date the same day they join online dating. Seniors can still get hurt by rejection and become depressed, but meeting people online brings much more good for them. Seniors can feel free and young again online. They can feel like they belong somewhere. All those possibilities for chatting and meeting in person are good for seniors’ mental health because they feel included. One would expect seniors to be grumpy about online dating and youngsters to be excited, not the other way around. But keep in mind that some research doesn’t determine how something will affect you. Especially if you know the trick, we’re about to reveal.
How to Use Online Dating, so that it Doesn’t Affect Your Mental Health in a Bad Way
“Keep your eyes on the prize!” Everybody heard that 100 times, but that’s one of those motivational sentences we hear and forget in a second. Now, we’ll show you how to use that sentence to win in life (online dating included). Bruce Lee said, “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” If you focus on the bad sides of online dating, you’ll end up crying in the corner of your room while biting your knees. Every unanswered message will hurt you; every rejection will hurt you. And rejections will come. But if you prepare yourself for everything that can happen, you’ll win 100%. You have to understand that rejections and awkward first dates are part of the process. If you manage to do that, you’ll become much stronger mentally. Keep your focus straight forward, don’t let anything move it from your goal – meeting your perfect match online.
