The more I read here, the more I see members are talking about online dating. Now, I don’t profess to know anything about it nor am I being critical.
Is it that difficult to meet people through normal social conventions (dances, work etc) or is it simply far easier to use online techniques?
I’ve never tried online dating, but I would imagine that it’s much easier to find someone online than through more “conventional” methods. You know the person’s looking, for one thing, and you’ll be able to get a read on what his or her interests are before you take the plunge. I’m sure there are a million other reasons, but it’s 5 A.M. and I’m not going to bother looking; those were the first two things that came to mind, though.
A friend of mine met his wife through online dating. He works in a pretty male dominated industry and was able to meet women in much greater numbers than he would have through traditional means.
I have traditionally worked in small offices, and I prefer keeping my personal life and my professional life separate anyway. I completed my schooling a quarter of a century ago, and don’t belong to a meeting (church or synagogue).
Once you’re over the age of 25, you’re not tripping over age-appropriate single folks at every turn.
I rarely meet single women - even less so now that I don’t go to bars and work from home. Where to meet a single woman? I’m told church is a great place, but as an agnostic it seems somewhat hypocritical.
Even before I worked from home, it was very rare to meet a woman at work, since they do not seem as prevalent in my field (software development), add to that my age (47) and it is rarer still to find one who is single.
There are other reasons that make it tough to find a match, but I think you get the idea.
I met my first boyfriend online when I was 15, and have been meeting men that way ever since (I’m almost 30).
I work in a virtual office of 3 people (one of them being my brother) so meeting people at work is out. It wasn’t until last year that we even had a client that was remotely in my age range.
Every member of my church who is my age had quit coming by the time we were in our teens, and they only returned when they started having a family.
I’ve joined several activities outside the home that I was interested in (karate, bowling, dog obedience, concert band) but they were all full of younger, older or married people.
Online dating IS dating for me. It’s not weird. I’ve not run into any psychos and have had plenty of long and short relationships.
I wouldn’t date anyone I meet through work (or, at least, not if I have to work directly with them) and I guess I don’t get invited to dances, parties, et cetera much except with coworkers or my small external social circle, which doesn’t provide much in the way of dating opportunities. I’ve had a couple of friends try to set me up with other associates, but that seems to involve a lot of flakery (trying to fit together people who don’t really have anything in common other than being single) and of course engenders internecine gossip and drama that I’d just prefer to avoid. I’ve made a particular effort to try to just talk to random women in public (in queues or social situations) with varying degrees of success but that hasn’t really led to dating opportunties.
Of course, online dating hasn’t really been going gangbusters, either. There seemed to be a lot of women who are either especially picky, playing the field, or just online to “meet” men via e-mail or IM but not in person. So I can’t really say that it is more successful than other methods even though it theoretically gives a much larger playing field than normal social networks.
Stranger
I’m now off the dating market thanks to falling in love with my best friend 
but, yeah, online dating is a great way to meet people as long as you are smart enough not to put yourself in dangerous situations (make sure the first meeting takes place in a public setting, be careful not to give out your home address or phone no., etc. )
It does help to be able to get a sense of who the person is from what they say in their profile too. It saved a lot of time to know before even going out with the person what their religious view was, preferences about having kids, etc. and other issues that wind up becoming important in a relationship that you normally can’t ask about right off the bat.
As said above, in 2009, online dating is dating. Just another way of meeting folks, as normal as the bar scene, church, through friends, etc.
One plus to online dating: you both know that it’s a date. I’ve met plenty of women in real life, had coffee with them, hung out with them, and then get the “I didn’t think this was a date” thing. At least with online dating, they can’t use that lame excuse-- they have to be a bit more direct when shooting ya down :).
The best way to get a lot of dates is to maximize the number of women/men you meet. Online dating doesn’t replace other methods, or it shouldn’t. It ADDS to them, if you’re smart.