<p>Yes it is creepy, online dating I mean. Everything is virtual, its through text and iconic smiley faces and everything! There are some emotions that can only be expressed in person, you just dont feel the same way.</p>
<p>izzy - Same here, actually. </p>
<p>I really don’t think that it is creepy to meet people on the internet at all, as long as you are not an idiot about doing so. In my situation, I happened to make a connection with someone who fortunately only lived about an hour and a half away. I did not intend to fall for him, and had always told myself I would never meet anyone online, but I couldn’t deny the obvious chemistry that we had, at least online, and had to see if that could bloom into love in real life. Now, over three and a half years after meeting at the local mall with both of our mommies in tow, we are still together and very much in love. We see each other once every few weeks, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on finances and access to vehicles. </p>
<p>I have also met up with another friend online, and it made perfect sense to do so at the time. I was spending a day in NYC, and she lives in Long Island and visits the city a lot. So, I figured, instead of awkwardly hanging out with the people from my college that I didn’t know very well, I would call up a close friend online and we could hang out instead. We had a good time, and she was great at navigating the city, so it was actually a lot less scary than going around with acquaintances from school would have been.</p>
<p>^ einnob
It is not like you are going to start holding hands and making out with that person the moment you see them right? You think you have something good going on meet them over a cuppa and just talk. Sometimes the online chemistry just carries over and sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s life.</p>
<p>there is definitely an element of “strangeness” to it.</p>
<p>Er…I’m not comfortable meeting people off the internet. It’s just so weird. Like how do I even know you? Who are you really behind that username? It’s completely different than talking to a person in person, you don’t really get a sense of what people are like off the internet. And then it would be weird to see what they looked like, and if they are probably completly different from how they post and how you thought they would be like. </p>
<p>I dunno, I guess if you are having trouble finding dates in real life and want like a “virtual” matchmaker online dating is ok to a certain degree. But eharmony commercials are annoying (and all the couples aren’t very good-looking). Online dating is kinda like a last resort…</p>
<p>So yeah, to me it’s a bit creepy.</p>
<p>Online dating? I thought we were just talking about meeting someone we met online!!</p>
<p>I find online dating to be creepy too. Apparently Dr.Phil endorses eharmony.</p>
<p>No one’s here ever read The Game? Those guys all met online, and they managed to rule the Sunset Strip for awhile, until it all fell apart because they were all power hungry.</p>
<p>Meeting in person someone you met online is often depicted as dangerous by the media (just think about those news stories about how people get mugged, murdered or what not). I think it’s safe if you choose a public location with lots of other people around, and use your judgment to make sure the other person is not up to something before meeting in a less public place.</p>
<p>^
Precisely!</p>
<p>bump? .</p>
<p>It depends on a lot of things. If it’s a person that (says they are/is) close to your age, for example someone you go to school with, just meet them in a public place and it’s like you met them anywhere else.</p>
<p>i’ve met several people IRL from the internet and it’s never been awkward</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>i doubt this, judging mainly from your use of the abbreviation “IRL”…</p>
<p>There are several friends who I’ve known for years on the internet. I would love to meet them and the only thing stopping me is lack of funds to travel to meet them. We all figure that if we haven’t stalked each other yet, it probably won’t happen.</p>
<p>And I doubt your ability to walk up a flight of stairs. I really don’t care if you don’t believe me, especially if it’s for some ■■■■■■■■ reason like me using an acronym.</p>
<p>I’ve only met a person off the internet once, on Facebook. She went to the same school as me and was a “friend of a friend” so it wasn’t that creepy. But overall, the experience was awkward. She looked very pretty in her Facebook page and then turned out to be very, um, average in real life (although I did see this coming). I planned to meet in the library, just so I had something to do in case it wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t have any “intentions” anyway (seriously, lol). We met, kind of had a conversation, and then we ended up seeing one of her friends and she talked to her the whole time while I continued doing what I was doing… which was homework. </p>
<p>What’s more weird is how we could hold a good conversation on Facebook, but then had no chemistry in real life, haha. I imagine this can happen a lot in this scenarios.</p>
<p>Is it weird to meet a pen pal? Or someone you talk to on the phone?</p>
<p>@WCF
Happened to me two years back. He was a senior and we shared an incredible chemistry online. After a month we decided to meet, and the moment we met it was FIZZ! We couldn’t hold a conversation for even 10 minutes. After that we just stopped talking by an unspoken agreement kinda :)</p>
<p>leah377- I have very legitimately met people from online and I have frequently used the acronym IRL to refer to it. My friends and I have had discussions about who has met each other “IRL” or not. It’s a common practice. I really don’t understand what you mean by doubting Russell7’s claims on this basis. It’s a little confusing.</p>
<p>it was just a joke; i was insinuating that he’s a nerd</p>
<p>he (and you?) clearly took offense; maybe i shouldn’t have said it…sorry.</p>