The popularity of online dating for Jewish men and women has skyrocketed over the last few years. If you're ready for love, and willing to try the Internet, you're in luck. It's simple: a computer and an Internet connection will get you started. Then, a few mouse clicks and voila! You've got millions of potential love connections at your fingertips!
Dating sites can be divided into two main categories: paid sites and free sites. Obviously, there's an advantage to the "no fee" sites: they're free! But there are also many drawbacks that may not be quite so obvious. On the other hand, you do get a little more when you have to pay a fee: these sites are set up to elevate your user experience and you can also expect some general safety measures to be in place.
Whichever way you go, just keep in mind that not all dating sites are equal. You only get what you pay for - or don't pay for, in the case of free sites. Another problem with a free dating site is that it could put you at risk. You might be opening yourself up to potential dangers.
Dating sites are in business to make money. If that is true, how, then, can the so-called freebies run without charging their members? For starters, the "bells and whistles" of a free site simply don't exist. You probably won't find free webcam chatting or video hosting capabilities on free sites. More important, if you've got questions, you might be on your own. You may not be able to get a quick response from customer service. Consider yourself lucky if your free dating site has a phone number for customer support.
You may be getting less of the traditional features that make the paid sites more complete. But you will get a lot of something else: you'll get plenty of advertising - big, bold annoying banners that pop up and pop-unders every time you log on. Everyone loves those, right? At least once a week, you can also expect to get e-mail advertising. Worst of all, your personal info could end up in the hands of a large advertising network.
Still think that a free dating site can't be that bad?
So, let's pretend you go ahead and sign on with a free dating site. Next thing you know - you find someone interesting. You start by corresponding with e-mail. That works, so you move to phone conversations. After a great virtual relationship, you both decide you're ready to meet in person. Since there are no fees that must be paid to use the dating service, this person could be virtually anybody. His or her images might be fakes and personal information could be phony. Not too mention, his or her personality might be completely designed to lure you into a personal meeting. Unfortunately, this is a story that constantly repeats itself. Now, not everyone who does this intends to hurt or harm you, but sometimes that's exactly what he or she has in mind.
If you were to meet someone from a free dating site and you were to be robbed or otherwise assaulted, what information can you give the police? There's just no information about who this person is. No credit card on record. No official payment information on record at all. Where will the police start their search?
These problems are just non-existent on paid dating sites. While you will definitely be charged a fee, you'll also get much more in exchange. You won't be sifting through paid advertisements or dumping spam from your e-mail box.
The user interface for paid dating sites will offer its members much more elaborate search parameters. There will also be several types of communication outside of e-mail, such as instant messaging and even webcam chatting.
The paid membership sites offer yet another perk, one that is often overlooked. If you discovered someone from the site that you liked, and you wanted to meet face to face, you have some assurances; the other member's real personal information is on file with the dating site.
Resource: check out the latest free online dating story at
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/08/16/6469331-sun.html
