Dangers of online dating

Dangers of online dating

 · The second grave danger that online dating presents is the fact that there is minimal background checking involved when signing up for dating websites. This is especially true for free dating websites. According to a report from Phactual, 10% of online dating users are sex offenders  · Online dating has become dangerous to the point where people actually fear for their lives, with good reason. A recent murder case involving a man named Danueal Drayton and the women (yes, plural) he found online dating resulted in rape, murder, and holding a woman captive. The odd thing is, Drayton has a strong string of arrest records starting all the way back in  · Online Dating Dangers: Statistics 1. About 10% of Sex Offenders Use Dating Sites. According to Phactual, one in 10 sex offenders is on a dating site to 2. On Free Dating Sites, 1 in 10 Users are Scammers. In that same article by Phactual, the

The Dangers of Online Dating and How to Avoid Them - Lost Virtual Tour

A therapist's blog about mental health matters. As an affiliate of programs including Amazon and BetterHelp, we make commissions from qualifying sales. We all know somebody who found love on an online dating app.

If you are reading this, that person is probably not you. For most of us, online dating is frustrating, especially if you take it seriously. Potential suitors are often flighty, dangers of online dating, defensive, and shallow. People lie.

People ghost. Sure, you may find exactly what you are looking for. But more than likely, you just end up being grossed out by the behavior of strangers. Online dating apps were supposed to make things easier. They were supposed to facilitate the search for true love. Instead, more and more users of apps like Tinder have discovered the dangers of online dating often outweigh the potential rewards. While this post is not meant to discourage you from dating online, it is meant to educate you about the psychological risks, so that you will be in a better position to protect yourself.

Dating is inherently risky, dangers of online dating. Most relationships fail. Sometimes, you get your heart broken. Online dating, however, takes those costs to another level. In earlythe Pew Research Center published the results of a study about online dating in America. While it does note a few positive features, like convenience, the study also identifies some concerning trends. One study published in BMC Psychology in March found that people who use online dating apps are more likely to be depressed, anxious, or to feel distressed as a result.

Another study in Body Imagepublished inshowed that female Tinder users struggled with body image issues and that male users struggled with low self-esteem. It may be a little of both. What is clear is that we should be careful. Online dating is essentially a form of social mediaand we all know that social media interactions tend to be more toxic, divisive, and antisocial than most real world interactions. The bottom line: one of the dangers of online dating is exposure to stressors that dispose some users to increased amounts of depression and anxiety.

When dating in the real world, most of us only have one or two opportunities at a time. A friend who has a friend, or perhaps someone you meet at a bar. Those are manageable numbers. But what if your friend had friends they wanted you to meet? When we have too many choices, decisions become overwhelming. The famous jam experiment documents this phenomenon well. Basically, they found that people make better decisions when they have fewer choices.

He states that having too many choices is both exhausting and paralyzing, promotes unrealistic expectations, dangers of online dating, and encourages self-blame if we make the wrong decision. Think about how this applies to the world of online dating. How many hundreds of potential matches have you swiped left on without giving so much as a second glance?

How many times has the same thing happened to you? The bottom line: one of the dangers of online dating is an overabundance of choice. It stresses you outincreases your anxiety, and leads to frustration and unhappiness.

Rejection is a fact of life. There are more than 7 billion people on the planet, and not all of them are going to like you. Learning to deal with rejection in healthy ways is a key feature of adulthood. But surely we were never meant to be bombarded with rejection, right? Online dating apps do make it easier to meet people. But they also make it a lot dangers of online dating to get rejected by them, too.

That means the vast majority of users will experience some form of rejection by hundreds if not thousands of other users. In fact, rejection is so commonplace in the online dating world that new terms had to be invented to catalog its various forms.

Some of my favorites:. People not only react strongly when they perceive others have rejected them, but a great deal of human behavior is influenced by the desire to avoid rejection.

Consider how well you handle strong negative emotions before you proceed. The bottom line: one of the dangers of online dating is allowing rejection by strangers to compromise your self-esteem.

You need to understand that the behavior of others has nothing to do with your worth. How many of you reading this have been catfished? Or how about kittenfished? The relative anonymity of online dating is inherently problematic when it comes to establishing trust. As trust is critical for the development of healthy, secure, and satisfying relationships, it follows that trust issues have a way of sabotaging them, dangers of online dating.

People who struggle with trust issues also tend to struggle with anxious attachment styles, jealousy, low self-esteem, and even intimate partner violence IPV. Measure your expectations, and demand honesty and transparency from people you meet online. There are plenty of good, honest people who use online dating apps.

Those who fit that description will have no problem revealing their true selves to you. Those who do not will reveal themselves as well. You just have to know what to look for. As a general rule, if you feel like someone is trying to deceive you, they probably are. Trust your gut; intuition exists for a reason. The bottom line: one of the dangers of online dating is dangers of online dating can make you jaded.

Trust issues ultimately compromise your ability to form healthy relationships with others. Internet addiction is a serious matter. Research on dating app addiction is still in its infancy, dangers of online dating the data suggests it is a cause for concern. Obsession and compulsion are defining features of any addiction.

Unfortunately, dangers of online dating, online dating apps can be incubators for those two behaviors. How many times have you found yourself compulsively swiping through potential partners? How many times have you found yourself obsessing over potential matches? Will they respond? Will they like me? Will I ever find true love? Most online daters will never develop an addiction, but the point here is that online dating apps make it easier for those problematic behaviors to fester, dangers of online dating.

Some notable statisticsfrom a recent survey conducted by Match. One of the best things you can do is limit the time you spend using these apps. You just need to be smart about it. Online dating is NOT the same as dating someone you met through a friend, or at Church, dangers of online dating, or in school. You are going to be lied to.

You are going to be rejected. It is simply the way online dating works. As you go forward, be aware of the psychological dangers of online dating and take steps to protect your mental health. Get support from your family and friends. We all deserve love. But nobody deserves to dangers of online dating their mental health compromised as they search for it. How has your mental health been affected by online dating?

Share your experiences in the comments section below. Then, get matched with a licensed therapist dangers of online dating video, phone, or text. Dangers of online dating reading this post? Here are some more just like it:.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Reviewed for accuracy by Randy Withers, MA, NCC, LCMHC, LCAS. Licensed Therapist and Managing Editor of Blunt Therapy. Sign up today! In other words, Blunt Therapy is a blog about the kind of things that people go to therapy for. Now offering professional life coaching services to select clients. We may receive compensation from BetterHelp, TalkSpace, Online-Therapy, or other sources if you purchase products or services through the links provided throughout this website.

Dangers of Online Dating in - Everything you need to know

 · If you can look past all the possible dangers, or take extreme caution when meeting new people, there are several benefits to online dating. Online dating gives people who suffer from social anxiety and other social disorders. The chance to meet and talk to people who they would otherwise be too scared to talk to. Some people want to date but cannot seem to find the time to go out and 4,9/5(24)  · Online Dating Dangers: Statistics 1. About 10% of Sex Offenders Use Dating Sites. According to Phactual, one in 10 sex offenders is on a dating site to 2. On Free Dating Sites, 1 in 10 Users are Scammers. In that same article by Phactual, the  · Online dating has become dangerous to the point where people actually fear for their lives, with good reason. A recent murder case involving a man named Danueal Drayton and the women (yes, plural) he found online dating resulted in rape, murder, and holding a woman captive. The odd thing is, Drayton has a strong string of arrest records starting all the way back in