Why Online Dating is More Effective Than Ever Before

I was thrilled to chat with Kevin Frankish this morning at Breakfast Television to discuss a recent study by Match.com showing that 40% of Canadians have now dated online.

1. It's Faster

Meeting the perfect match takes time: you need to meet enough potential partners in order to know who 'the one' is when they come around. Thirty years ago you'd have to wait for the county dance to meet a potential date - and you'd be so hard-pressed to find another date that you may end up settling for the best match in your small town. But today (even more than 5 years ago), there are simply more people than ever online, including successful, professional, and hardworking people. One in five couples now meet online, and that stat continues to grow as more and more people sign up to try their luck out online.

2. People are Getting the Hang of It

With the evolution of Facebook and other social media sites we are getting a lot more experienced at using social media to communicate with the people in our lives. Online dating is the norm now, and people who have experienced it before know the rules: a) Meet in a neutral place like a coffee shop for a short time (couple hours max) b) Check out their profile but don't engage in too much back-and-forth before the date, and c) Always have a great profile pictures (profiles with any picture receive 7x as many views).

3. Expectations are More in Touch with Reality

Now, online daters are understanding and accepting that for every good date there will be a few dates with whom there will be absolutely zero connection, and that's okay. Accepting that we're not going to meet 'the one' on the first date (or even within the first week of online dating) sets those online up for a better rate of success. Online dating is process, my best advice is to give yourself a good 6 months and make a commitment to go on at least one date per week during that time.