You Get What You Pay For
by DPLast Updated: 08/23/2006 |
|
Free online dating services are like any free service - a waste of time!
Okay, so you've accepted the fact that online dating isn't so bad and you're willing to put yourself out there. Great. Now it's just a matter of where. Before you figure that out you should know where not to go.
Free online dating sites. Tempting? Yes. Good idea? Not so much. More than anything you shouldn't make one of these your first experience because it is almost guaranteed to be a bad one.
Why? Why is the continental breakfast always so bad? Why does public television suck? You get what you pay for. Remember, it's called an online dating SERVICE for a reason. We are talking about a service here, and if you want good service you have to pay for it. When you are new and inexperienced at something this is especially the case.
If there is little or no money coming in, how is the website going to pay anyone to screen for fake profiles? How fun would it be to find out the first person you met online was just some punk kid getting his kicks in the computer lab? It is vastly more likely to happen in a free site because both the the budget and the number of staff they have is so much smaller.
And that is just one small problem among many. Tech support is almost always lacking and updates or upgrades happen slowly if ever. The websites and software they use are usually unimpressive and slow because - shockingly - there is no money to pay an IT department to develop a good one.
Luckly, as the online dating industry has established itself, free services have faded. You will likely be turned away before you are even tempted to sign up, but if you weren't hopefully you are now.
After you have got the hang of meeting people online and aren't easily rattled by anything, you might want to sign up for a free service or two and try to spot a hidden gem. If you were attracted to joining the website then perhaps someone you would like would be, too. Just don't start there. Throw down a few bucks and go to the professionals. You'll be glad you did. |
