Modern living has moved human relationships from offline interactions to online, instead. Now, most people rely on the Internet and the different social media platforms to connect with ‘the one’.
Given how deep we’ve gotten into online dating, it is important to ask: Are online romantic relationships healthy?
There are a lot of conflicting opinions on this. On one hand, there are those who think that the internet has made it easier for people from different walks of the life to connect, which otherwise wouldn’t have been the case. On the other hand, others are of the opinion that online dating takes the ‘connection’ out of relationships.
Yes, it’s your prerogative to ensure you’re in a healthy relationship, but there are a few tips to ensure your online dating experience is worthwhile
Social Media or Dating Sites?
This is a tough one. It’s a popular but erroneous belief that dating sites are better at meeting your relationship needs than any social media platform. This belief understandably stems from the process of screening done on these dating platforms, and the lack of a sieving process on social media. But would you rather go through an expensive hit and miss, than a free one? It’s left to you to decide.
Test the waters
Whatever you do, avoid rushing into an online relationship. Take it a step at a time. Here’s how:
– Start with just emails. This may seem too formal but think of these emails as letters.
– Move to instant messaging. This means you would have exchanged numbers, so calls can also be allowed.
– Now, it’s time to unveil the friendly stranger. WhatsApp has made visual communication hassle free, take advantage of this but limit this engagement.
It’s time to meet
For any relationship to be meaningful it must be real, and the virtual world isn’t, so it’s time to migrate. But this is where you apply caution; the person you’ve been developing a relationship with online may not be the person they claim to be.
One of the cons of an online relationship is the fact that people can assume personalities that aren’t real. So the first step to being cautious is arranging to meet in a public place, the next is to get ready to relearn who the person is and to be a tad shocked too.
The thereafter
Afterwards, it’s, important to do a reality check; compare both experiences, do they match up or is there something unusual? This may be a red flag.
To answer the question: “Are online romantic relationships healthy?” Relationships are only as healthy as we make them – online or offline. But when it comes to online relationships, it’s better to be persuaded by reason and not your emotions.