4 More Truths About Online Dating

Remember what I said previously about the secret realities of online dating? Well, there's more where that came from.

If you want to make it through the online dating jungle with minimal fatigue, minimal heartbreak, and maximum fun and success, add these 4 truths about online dating to your list:

1. My dad's advice was right: You can please some people some of the time, but you can't please all people all of the time. There are some people who just won't be interested in you. And that's ok. (I mean...it sucks at first, but then it's ok.) You can't let it get you down or put you off online dating (or, if you're feeling really melodramatic, dating in general) forever. There are plenty of fish in the sea, even if that's not the site you're using.
2. As Dr. House would say, Everybody lies. It would be nice if it wasn't true, but we are never going to live in a world where everyone is honest, all the time. In fact, there's a good chance you're not honest all the time. You could say that everyone who stretches the truth is a jerk, but I think that's doing them a disservice. The question is: Why did they do it? Were they actually trying to be malicious, or is there a much less devious explanation? If they just needed a little help getting their foot in the door, consider cutting them some slack. That foot might be attached to someone awesome.
3. An online dating profile isn't as deep as you think it is. Every online dating site swears its profile goes more in-depth than any other site, or that its matching algorithm is more complex and accurate than any of the competition. Yes, dating services are constantly trying to improve the experience, and as online daters we try our best to create multifaceted pictures of who we are in our profiles, but the reality is that it will only ever be a one-dimensional representation of who we really are. Try to remember that what's on a person's page is just the tip of the iceberg.
4. Rules are definitely meant to be broken. A more appropriate name for this one might have been "Rules? What rules?" There are none anymore. You're probably abiding by all kinds of principles you think are important that really aren't. Email whoever you're interested in. Ask someone out if you want to meet them in person. Stop playing coy and forget about gender roles. Online dating is the perfect time to throw caution to the wind and take a flying leap out of your comfort zone.