Online Senior Dating – Feeling Lucky?
Karen was a seventy-year-old woman whose husband had passed away the previous year. She was lonely and lived in a small rural community, where the variety of single older men was exceptionally limited. She decided to try internet dating. She read the advice given online on how to write a successful personal profile. All she got in response were responses from men she could tell were scammers and gamblers.
Finally, she got angry. Nothing was paying off. She sat down and wrote from her heart, with the genuine passion and anger that she felt. “I’m not here to be anyone’s servant. If you want a woman to pick up your socks, she go find another.”
The same day after she posted the new profile, a man named Dennis found her on the dating site. He read her fiery essay of hers, laughing all the while. This is an old girl I just have to meet, he told himself. It was love at first sight. Karen and Dennis have now been together for thirteen years of marriage, and they are still going strong. They are a true senior love story on the internet.
Many middle-aged people today turn to the Internet to find the love of their lives. While this is sometimes truly successful, the practice can be fraught with danger. There are stories of people who have been conned, conned, and sometimes even killed when they trusted a stranger they met on the internet.
What to keep in mind
If you decide to engage in online dating, please do so very carefully and responsibly. Spend considerable time talking to the other person on the phone before agreeing to meet with him or her for the first time. When we’re craving to meet that special someone, it’s easy to fool ourselves into thinking, “This must be the one!” We ignore the warning signs because our desire for love is so strong that it blocks out what our eyes and ears are telling us.
If after several phone conversations you are sure that the person on the other end of the line is genuine, agree to meet him or her in a public place. Never go to an isolated place with the person or give them your home address until you have seen each other several times and spent a lot of time together. It is advisable, before meeting, to do a criminal record check and otherwise verify the veracity of the person’s profile. For example, you could call the place where they work to make sure they are actually employed there. If you find any discrepancy between what you’ve been told and how your story is verified, don’t walk away. Run.
If done responsibly and cautiously, Internet dating can be a way to meet available seniors based on shared values and interests. Some describe internet dating as a process of getting to know another person from the inside out, rather than from the outside in like we do in real life. But remember: anyone can lie on a dating site. Take a look at their history before you get involved and don’t let your hopes blind your reason. Only if you are responsible, rational, and careful can Internet dating be safe and productive.