Beech Tree News Network

Internet dating has gotten a bad rap.  Sometimes rightfully so but most times not so rightfully.  There are rules, obviously, as there are with anything online (and even offline).  The first thing you get told on any reputable dating site is to not give out your email address or phone number.  You would think that would be a no-brainer.  You would be wrong.
There are countless stories of the pitfalls of online dating.  Quite frankly, that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to sign up.  For every pitfall, every false profile, woman who may actually be a man, etc. there is the story of two nice people who meet, who wouldn’t otherwise, and end up together. 
I know of two internet dating success stories; both of which are women who are very close to me.  I’ll mention one of the two.  My best friend Cassie met her husband Rob online, the site was www.plentyoffish.com, I believe.  That’s plenty of fish, not plenty 0ff-ish.  I just noticed that it could look like that.  To be honest, I couldn’t have picked a better mate for my bestie.  Plus, that’s too much pressure.  Imagine someone saying that you were in charge of finding a partner for someone.  I can’t even find one for myself.  What chance would I have finding one for someone else?
I did a little research on the topic of online dating. The first thing I saw was a list of dating websites.  I’m sorry to tell the person who compiled this survey but Facebook is not a dating site.  Yes, they actually included Facebook as a dating site.  I repeat, Facebook is NOT a dating site.  Badoo, which I’d never heard of, has 266 million users.  “Great for chatting, making friends, sharing interest and even dating”.  Eh, I’ll pass.  Chemistry, Christian Mingle, Match, Tinder(ugh), OKCupid, FriendFinder(sounds a little suspect to me) are the ones listed. 
A number of major dating sites list the first Sunday after New Year’s Day as the most popular day to try a site.  Specifically the most traffic was between 5-8 pm.  This year, it happened on January 4.  Be careful.  IBM researchers found that of the 41 dating apps reviewed, 60% have security issues that make them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. 
If you’re thinking of trying online dating, go for it.  Just be careful.  Don’t be giving out any personal information.  That’s really just a general online rule.  Happy surfing!