Our parents try to be cool, but there’s no denying that we’re different from their generation in millions of ways. I won’t go through the whole laundry list of differences, but it’s clear that we’re more tech savvy, we’re better at multitasking, and we don’t have time for things we don’t like. These have implications in our dating lives. When our parents were young, they felt pressure to give in to certain social norms that governed how dating was “supposed to be.” With us, in contrast, just as we’re not going to stick with a depressing job, we’re not going to keep hanging out with a guy who doesn’t inspire us. We have better things to do.

So far, no one has attempted to define the dating norms for the current generation of young people. Let’s start with a few simple rules, and maybe we can go from there.

Rule #1: Don’t drag out a relationship that isn’t working. Thanks to social networking and personals sites, the old cliché about there being many fish in the sea is now more obvious than ever. In the old days, a girl might have stuck with a guy she wasn’t really into in the hopes that things would get better. Nowadays, we’re much more content to throw back that fish and cast our line again.

Rule #2: You don’t have to change yourself to be more like what he wants. Rule #1 works in the other direction, too. If a guy is unhappy about anything that you do, it’s not his business to try to pressure you into changing. You are who you are, and everyone needs to accept that. If he doesn’t like it, he can scram. And when a guy can’t figure this out, it’s your job to put an end to things.

Rule #3: He has to like your friends. Most of us love our social networks, and guys who are unwilling to get plugged in are not very fun to hang around. There are some perfectly good reasons to shun Facebook and web-based networking in general, but when this philosophy carries over into other areas of a guy’s life, it can become a problem. You shouldn’t have to give up your friends and your social life for a guy who prefers to stay withdrawn from the world. He doesn’t have to be Mr. Charisma, but he should at least be game for social activities involving your friends.

Rule #4: Trust your instincts. Even though the standard modes of communication have changed, human nature has not. When you sense that there’s something wrong in a relationship, it’s probably your intuition speaking. Trusting that inner voice is one lesson that we should learn from our mothers.

Rule #5: He doesn’t have to be rich or successful, but he has to have ambition. These days, social consciousness and environmental sustainability are just as important, if not more important, than money. If a guy has his heart in the right place and has real ambition to do positive things in the world, it’s your job to support him whether he makes six-figure salary or not. We don’t need rich boyfriends to take care of us.

By: Caterina Christakos

About the Author:

Find Your Niche

In most circumstances, online dating is pretty positive. While it can be in some cases, people never find that one connection they are looking for, but you will absolutely make friends. Thousands of people have met online and eventually even got married. It can be a great way to get out of a dating rut because it’s a totally clean, slate and new environment for you to experience. So if you are thinking of trying online dating, you should be positive, but there are also some disadvantages that may come to light.

Some sites don’t use photographs; this is hard because you never get to see the person you are trying to judge. Physical attraction is important when it comes to romance and without being able to see the other person you have to trust that they are being honest. In order to make themselves look good in this situation, people tend to stretch the truth. Also on certain sites, the number of people may not be so great and this can be a disadvantage. While people will continue to join, others will either make a connection with someone else and leave, or just drop out. This is no good because it leaves less people for you to get to know.

There are not many other disadvantages but the last one is pretty important. If you do happen to meet someone that interests you, things are not always easy. If they live in another state, the relationship tends to turn into more of a friendship unless one of the people chooses to relocate.

There are however many advantages to online dating. You have the ability to meet thousands of people all over the world so possibility is huge. These services are designed to help you meet people like you who share similar interests, so it is much easier to get rid of the bad seeds. You’ll never have to get all dressed up to meet someone that may be a disaster. Yet you will always have the opportunity to impress someone with your wit and charm rather than a first impression.

Dating online is also less expensive than going out all the time and it can also be much safer. You have the access to meet people no matter what you schedule is like or what you have going on in your life. Overall, online dating is a great opportunity for any person looking for love friendship or even themselves.

You also never know who you are talking to. You could be getting close with someone who may be a potential threat. Even when you get to know someone, how well do you really know them or know about a person’s past. The person you are chatting online with could be a convicted rapist or even murdered. Hopefully not, but it’s always a good idea to look into someone’s past using a background check or criminal records search site whether you are meeting people in public or dating online.

By: Amy Seer

About the Author:

Find Your Niche

Online dating can be a very cool way to meet new people, and build relationships. It all begins with your advert.

What you write about yourself creates the first impression, which usually sets the whole tone of the relationship (assuming there will be one) afterwards. Write the perfect online dating advert, and get the results you wish.

Here are the four tips to follow, and you will see the results you desire.

Tip 1 – Decide How You Wish to be known.

This requires a great deal of thought. If you wish to be known as a party girl, then say it. If you wish to known as a cool guy looking for adventure, say it.

Say exactly how you wish the others who read your advert to know you.

Before you start writing however, take some time to think out what you are planning to write.

Ask yourself what you want people to think about you, and who you are. Are they the same? If not, you must continuing thinking about who you are, and why you wish to be seen as something or somebody else.

Tip 2 – Be Honest and Open

Although the internet offers an unprecedented opportunity to be anonymous, that does not give you the right to be dishonest.

For online dating, or any dating, honesty and sincerity are two qualities you cannot underestimate.

These will come out in your writing and appeal to other genuine people. If you are not, you will attract the insincere, who wait for the smallest opportunity to rush in. Be honest and open and in this case, likes attract.

Tip 3 – Be Original

It may take longer to write your advert than you expected, but if you are original your advert will be fresh and it will get more reads. The greater number of reads, the greater the chance of you finding that person you are really looking for.

Avoid banal and trite comments, and don’t be “cute” by saying things that are overly obvious. Original comments take thought, some study (of what has been written) and finding those things that apply just to you.

These three tips, if followed with produce an advert that the world can see and understand instantly who the writer is and what he or she really wants. You are not rushed to write your advert, delay registration to the online dating site while you work out your advert.

When you write it, use plain English, and don’t try to impress with words that need a dictionary to understand. Simple and plain English is always the best.

As a last note, notice the successful leaders on the dating site. Read their adverts and see what they have written. No need to copy, but you should not turn your back on success. So let your advert be meaningful.

By: Sacha Tarkovsky

About the Author:

Webhosting for SEO

Oh yes…when it comes to online dating, it is possible to get tricked from so many different directions.

First, there are literally tens of thousands of single dating sites fighting for your membership. And as you may have discovered, many will do anything to get it! One online dating site trick that never seems to go away is the “fictitious member” trick.

What happens is this; you sign up for their free trial which will allow you to view members, members can view you, and you can receive email. Cool…

You set up a basic profile; it doesn’t make sense to invest too much time since you’re not sure if you are going to stay!

Within minutes, you receive a very heart felt, sincere email from a top local executive, or another equally impressive field. Basically, they are looking for someone just like you…in your area! Well now…! You sharpen your wits; construct a very professional, cute, informative response. As soon as you send your response, you are glued to your monitor… amazed at your luck!

You’re waiting for a response from “Mr. My Future”…there it is!

You rush to your in box…and it’s from the site’s admin. dept. They remind you that you can only receive email…you can’t respond to email. What do you do…? Is

“Mr. My Future” all part of the membership “trick”?

You’re on another site…clickin’…cruisin’…socializin’…until you run into someone that not only caught your eye, but you’re both on the same reality page! He gets your little jokes…makes the same little off color remarks…you even share the same music files…

you have the same outlook on relationships…and even if the relationship doesn’t take a romantic turn, you would love to have this person as a friend. This is too good to be true…you spend every free minute instant messaging…emailing…phoning…texting…he is a major part of your day.

A couple of days go by…

You haven’t heard from him…emails aren’t being answered. You check the site you met him on and he hasn’t logged in for over two days. That’s not normal…you leave several messages on his cell phone…followed with text messages. But…no response. Of course you are concerned about him, but to be totally honest? You know it’s selfish, but you don’t want to have this person walk out of your life. He’s brought a lot of simple pleasures to your world. The two of you have even planned a weekend rendezvous…just to see if the physical/sexual attraction is there…while slowly sinking into self pity, there is an email. “It’s a really long story, but could you wire me $325. before 10:00? You’re the only person I trust…I will explain it all later…” Is this a trick…?

Both of these scenarios are true experiences. I’ve said all of that to say this: keep your guard up, until you are 100% sure you can safely take it down!

By: Vivian Johnson

About the Author:

Accident Lawyers

The first thing that people ask when they think about becoming involved with the online dating scene; is if there are any online dating tips that people can share. Well in this article we want to provide you with some valuable online dating tips that will help you stay focused and yet make your journey fun and enjoyable.

Remember you are getting involved with the online dating scenes so you can mingle and meet that special person. So one of the things that you want to avoid is answering or wasting your times with someone that you are not interested.

You would be amazed at how many people talk to others that they have absolutely no interest; only because they do not want to tell them that they are not interested. You have to learn how to be honest.

If someone responds to your profile and you notice that you have no interest; you can either tell them or just ignore the response. Of course the right thing to do is to politely let them know that you are not interested.

Do not be afraid to send an email to someone. There are several people who become involved with online dating; yet they sit back hoping and waiting for someone to discover them online. However you could literally sit back and wait for quite a while before someone discovers your profile. So it is best to take some time out of your day and browse online at other people’s profiles as well.

Honesty always plays a huge role in meeting other people whether you are doing it online or offline. Never put yourself in a situation that you have told that is not true. Chances are that the person may find out; and no one likes a liar.

You can end up killing the chance to start a relationship if they find out that you are lying. Basically what it comes down to when getting started online and looking for dating tips is just to be yourself and completely honest. Most of all you wan to have fun and enjoy the experience of meeting other people.

By: Deena Williams

About the Author:

Making Money

Telephone Dating has gained popularity in recent years. It gives people an opportunity to know more about their date prior to a real introduction and that too without stepping out of their house. Many Telephone Dating services allow you to meet open-minded or like-minded adults anywhere, be it in your local vicinity or when you are walking on the road. Such dating services enable you to have discreet encounters on the phone and meet people you like for real.

Callers can directly call a telephone dating service and leave a message on a recording machine, describing themselves, the kind of person they hope to meet and the kind of relationship they would want to be in. On the other side, callers can listen to the messages and if they hear the one they like, they leave their own message. Some telephone services even allow you to speak directly to others they might want to date.

Telephone dating is a more realistic approach and a better alternative to discover your ideal partner. Websites which offer telephone dating services can even allow you to see a picture of the person you are going to talk to. These websites have a section with the profiles of individuals interested in dating. The telephone is a great way to meet people whom you might not have met but whom you would want to date.

An important advantage of telephone dating service is that, it is instant and allows you to hear the other person’s voice, their tone, diction, grammar and the whole speaking style. It helps you to have an insight of the internal personality of an individual rather than the outside characteristics. Telephone-dating service is great for people who are not easily influenced by looks but are in search of a life partner and not love at first sight.

By: Amit Salkar

About the Author:

Toddler Safety

You’ve been searching around your online dating site and you’ve come across a profile that really catches your interest. It could be the picture that drew you in, or perhaps it was the online profile which seemed witty, but either way you’re hoping to start a dialog with the person.

In the online dating community, all initial conversation is done via the internet. Different companies have different platforms to operate on: chat, instant messaging, and groups, but all of them include email. You don’t actually get to “talk” to someone until you’ve progressed pretty far into the relationship.

This leads to the big question, what’s the best way to get in touch with a profile that you’re interested in?

As a free member of a site, you usually are not able to contact the paid members. This privilege is withheld from you until you reach into your back pocket and pull out your credit card to pay for a membership. Once you do this, you usually will have two different options to choose from.

Most sites offer some sort of initial contact to let someone know that you found their profile interesting. Many of the sites use the same terminology by calling it either a “wink” or an “icebreaker,” but its purpose is to let them know that you’re interested.

A “wink” is nothing more than that. It’s a notification that pops up telling the person of your interest in them. It really doesn’t tell them one thing about you. If you are tight on time and you don’t have the chance to craft an email, this is a quick method to state your interest. One note of caution, in many instances these are often ignored.

The second option available is to send an email to that person that introduces you, and it also lets them know that you are interested in them. This is by far the more effective of the two.

An email conveys to the recipient that you think enough of them that you are willing to sit down and take the time to compose an email to them. Let me put it to you this way, if you received a wink from one profile and a concisely written email from another profile, which one would you value more?

One final benefit to sending the email is that this gives you a chance to sell yourself, which you’ll never get by sending a “wink.” You don’t want to write the Great American Novel, but you want to take 1-2 paragraphs to tell a little bit about yourself.

I advise trying to get it to fit into 1 paragraph, but the most important thing is to be concise. Give them just enough info that they’ll feel the need to reply to you to find out just a little bit more. That should be the goal of every communication you send.

By: Jim Mcmenamin

About the Author:

Niche Video Site Builder

Dating a friend or just thinking about it? Many wonder if it’s a good idea if best friends date one another. So what do you think? I know the cynical among us may agree with that line from When Harry Met Sally, “that a man and a woman can’t really be just friends.” But that’s the topic of another article. Let’s get back to the issue of whether or not friends should date.

One of the driving forces behind friendship dating is the saying that “the best of friends make the best of lovers.” Yes, there are no easy answers here. But if you are planning to take the plunge and date a friend, you should at least be cognizant of the following:

* Dating a friend changes the complexion of that friendship forever. If it doesn’t work out, there will be awkwardness even if you attempt to remain friends. If things do work out, your platonic friendship (which does have unique benefits) has moved to a different level. Sooo… you need to contemplate whether you’re willing to risk that great present friendship for uncharted waters that may lead to disaster.

* Remember, while you may actually love that girl or guy, there is always the possibility of unrequited love. When your friend has different expectations than you do, dating that friend is probably a bad idea from the get go.

Overall, please don’t get the idea that we are dissing dating a friend. We are not. Dating a friend, if things go well, can be one of the most exciting and thrilling things happen in a relationship. While some friends who date are ideal soul mates for each other, most of these relationships do not last. Just be willing to count the cost.

By: David Butler

About the Author:

New Age Music

The world of online dating is not that much different than meeting someone offline. You do have an extra process to go through before you can properly date online. You have to first communicate with the person by email and eventually by telephone before you actually meet them. Once you have met the person, however, and you have agreed to have a first date, it is not that much different than meeting someone offline. If you want to be successful at online dating, avoid these 5 common mistakes that people make:

1. Do not get too serious too soon

Many people assume that because they think they know a person who they met online because they have emailed, chatted and talked on the phone, that they are bound for the altar as soon as they go on their first date with that person. Do not get too serious too soon. This is good dating advice for anyone who is dating, regardless of whether or not they are online dating. Those passionate romances often fizzle as fast as they come on, and you are left with your heart broken or breaking the heart of someone else. Give the relationship time to grow, become friends and companions. If you are looking for a long term partner, you want to be sure that you will be able to be with this person for a long time and get to know them as much as possible before making a commitment.

2. Do not bring up controversial subjects the first time you meet someone

Just as you should not bring up controversial subjects when you meet someone at a party, nor should you do so when you meet someone on an internet dating site. Subject matters like politics, religion and sex should not be an opening point of conversation when you are meeting someone for the first time. While these subjects are bound to come up later as you continue your relationship, you should just stick to positive and non confrontational subjects when you are meeting during online dating.

3. Do not be negative

Negative people are a turn off. Talking about your ex husband or wife while you are trying to have a date is one common online dating mistake that people tend to make. This is especially true if you are not really over your divorce. Also off limits is talking bad about other dates that you had. Stay positive when you are online dating and your dates will be much more pleasant.

4. Do not give out too much personal information

Meet in a public place and do not give out too much personal information when you are online dating. Remember that the person whom you have met is a stranger and until you feel comfortable sharing this information, such as your address and telephone number, keep it to yourself. Many people make the mistake of being too trusting. This can end up being a very bad online dating mistake.

5. Do not give the person any money

This seems like good old fashioned common sense, but many people are bilked out of money by con artists who prey on those who are lonely. Con artists say that the easiest person to con is the person who thinks that they cannot be conned. No matter what the circumstances, or how lonely you are, do not give money to someone who plans to fly in to meet you, wants to invest for you, needs help in getting away from the Russian police, etc. You will still be lonely, but much poorer. Sadly, despite warnings such as these, this is still one of the most common online dating mistakes.

By: Jason Savage

About the Author:

Fat Burning

If we can do our shopping online why can’t we find our soul mate online as well?

For many people all this computer dating stuff is fun and free. Here, you can do and say almost anything you want without worrying about consequences. Not to mention that many of these websites are free of charge and you can play this dating game for as long as you feel like it. You future husband or wife can be only one click away.

Usually people join an online dating website after they break up with their partner. That’s when they feel deserted and depress and feel the need for company.

Single people often say that they are very sad and lonely all the time. That’s not cool. In order to feel happy and safe all the time you need a companion to share the laughs, the tears and everything between.

When you end a long relationship, you feel down and lonely. This is the time when you must focus only on good things that make you smile. You can a great partner and forget all about your ex. The best way for you to do that is to join a website that offers online singles dating services.

All you need is courage to make the first step and once you enter these sites you’ll see how easy it is to meet new people and start a new a beautiful relationship.

All this online dating stuff requires no great informational skills. The entire procedure is simple and if as long as you have basic computer skills and can type, you should have no problems.

All you need to do is to register and fill in some personal information, search for other members and start talking to them. Remember that you’re all in the same spot and all of you look for a partner.

On the Internet you can find two different types of singles dating sites. Free singles dating websites offer registration and contacts free of charge along with a free two-way matching service. Online singles are not required to pay any fee while paid dating services will require a small membership fee.

Meeting new people on free singles dating websites has never been so easy. Just enter the website, register your personal profile and start talking to other members. You’ll forget about boredom and depression in no time.

By: Ricky Lim

About the Author:

Kid’s Beds