9 Reasons Why It’s Better to Meet a Potential Match Offline Rather Than Online
9 Reasons Why It’s Better to Meet a Potential Match Offline Rather Than Online
Once upon a time men used to go out to bars, restaurants, lounges, and other social scenes and approach women in hopes of courting them. Conversation and friendly flirting often led to phone numbers being exchanged on napkins or the palm of the man’s hands. However, somewhere between AOL chat rooms and Myspace search pages the art of the pick-up got lost. We now live in a world where there are dating services for every religion, race, and fetish you desire. In the early days of online dating you had to literally keep it a secret if you met someone from the internet, but now what was once a social taboo of sorts has become the norm. The dating platforms may be endless but many of the pitfalls of online dating remain. In an effort to help you turn back the clock and make every outing a #throwbackthursday of sorts, here are our 10 reasons why it’s better to meet a potential match offline rather than online.
It Helps to Develop Your “People Skills”
With the increase of emailing, texting, and private messaging, face-to-face interaction has diminished. This has caused the art of chit-chat to dwindle. By powering down your laptop or tablet and hitting the social scene, you will be able to dust off your interpersonal skills and develop more confidence in yourself. Increase your eye contact, firm up that handshake, and lose filler words when you speak. Whether you’re a male or female your potential match will appreciate the fact that you can hold a conversation as well as be confident, because insecurity can be detected a mile away.
You Never Have to Worry About Them “Not Looking Like Their Picture”
When online dating started to heat up in the early 2000’s it wasn’t uncommon for people to meet up blindly since there weren’t many camera phones and everyone’s scanner seemed to be “broken” when it was time to S2R (send to receive for all you 90’s babies out there). Now that profile pictures are a must, everyone looks to find that perfect angle to take the perfect selfiie, which can lead to awkward encounters. Don’t fall victim to bad angles and even worse being catfished. Instead peruse local hangout spots and find someone that gives you butterflies on-site. If all goes well the feeling you get when getting the number from someone you find attractive in person is a far better feeling than an inbox full of messages from people you wouldn’t blink an eye for.
Since You Met Them in “Your Scene” You Already Have Something in Common
So let’s say you met someone online and scheduled a date. The pressure is on to find a place you both can enjoy. If you’re into sports and take your date to the NFC Championship with the Eagles on the verge of a getting to the Super Bowl and your date could care less, then there could be problems on the horizon. Instead if you’re into sports go out with some friends to your favorite sport team’s home game and mingle. The cool part is it’s an easy ice breaker and you guys already have something in common. This works for whatever scene you’re into. So press the X on the top left corner of your screen and start meeting people with the same interest in person.
You Can Gauge a Person in Their Natural Habitat
When you meet someone online for the first time on a date you’re not meeting them, you’re meeting their representative. They will most likely be on their best behavior and do everything in moderation. On the flip side, the advantage of meeting people in real life gives you the opportunity to watch and observe someone you may be interested. Say you’re a guy and see a lovely lady at the bar. You’re thinking about making a move right away. However, observe for a minute. Not in a creepy dead stare but just glance from time to time. If this lovely lady proceeds to hammer half a bottle of Patron and starts cursing like a sailor, you may want to abort the mission. For ladies, you may see a strapping fellow but if you observe him flirting heavily with everything with breasts within an earshot you may think twice. These character flaws are harder to detect when everyone is building the perfect online profile.
The First Impression is Always Honest
So you’re out somewhere and finally built up the courage to approach the person who had your eye all night. You tap them on the shoulder to introduce yourself and they turn around and lay eyes on you. Whether male or female their initial reaction sets the tone for the rest of the convo. Either you’re going to need the gift of the gab to crawl out of the “eww” hole you dug yourself into or it can be smooth sailing. Either way the first impression is always honest. In many cases this may not ring true for online flings. Whether the pictures were misleading, lies about finances, or you finally see the reason why they never smile in any of their pics, most people will just politely give a compliment in order to not hurt any feelings. In retrospect it may be better to get shot down with an honest impression then to be lied to the entire date.
You Can See How They Interact With Your Friends Right Away
When finding a potential suitor one of the biggest line items on checklists is the ability for them to get along with your close friends and family. Well it so happens that the majority of the time we hang out is usually with best friends or family. So you’re out with your boy, bestie, or BFF (you decide) and you somehow ended up engaging someone that peaks your interest. You are able to see how they treat your friends or family right away. If it’s a guy you’re flirting with and he is treating your friends like cockblockers, then you have some reevaluating to do. However, if they are polite and engage in a convo with you’re friends then they may have potential. This crucial circumstance would be difficult when meeting someone online due to the fact that most people hold off on introducing potential mates to friends and family and if friction arises it can be too late.
There’s No Pressure
Okay so you found a hottie online and schedule a date at your favorite restaurant, everything is going perfect. You even thanked the big man upstairs for scoring such a date. So you show up and the hottie turns out to be a dud. Not only does the profile picture not add up, she talks with her mouth full. In your head you’re thinking how could this be. However, unless you’re going for the dirtbag of the year award you’re pretty much stuck finishing the meal, on top of that you already told her about the movie you bought tickets for. Instead of having to rough out nightmare dates such as these, log-off and mingle with people in person. You’ll be able to filter out the ones that turn you off.
You Know They Have a Social Life
Being young and full of life is great especially when you take advantage of the free time you have. If someone’s idea of a great time is scrolling through social media timelines all day and posting “look at me selfies” for likes then that usually raises a red flag. Look we’re not saying everyone needs to be a social butterfly but it’s nice to know that the person you’re taking out has a life outside of the internet. This is totally avoidable by meeting people in social settings especially “outdoorsy” activities such as bike riding, running, climbing, etc. Why not find someone that will compliment your lifestyle instead of just sitting at home and tending to their Farmville livestock.
You Can Avoid People Who Are Always on Their Phone
Again, without looking like a serial killer observe potential matches in a room the next time you’re hanging out somewhere. If your pet peeve is someone constantly on their phone you can quickly filter them out by spotting the smartphone zombies. These are the people with the glazed look over their eyes as they repeatedly refresh their Instagram timeline looking for a funny meme to re-post. Instead if you’re say at a coffee shop, look for the ones that have their nose in a book or legit using their laptop for productivity and not for the free WiFi to check their Facebook notifications.
