I never could fully understand how someone could fall head over heels with someone without ever meeting them, let alone never hearing their voice. Do you believe you could ever fall in love with someone you have never seen face to face? How could you go on for months to years with the constant notion of having not met in person?
The common excuse from Internet daters, “I don’t have access or own a webcam,” is probably 95 percent a lie. You may only have a few pictures of them, if the pictures are really them.
You could find yourself thinking, “Is my Internet love real? Am I being cat fished?” You feel torn because if they’re not who they say they are, then who are they? MTV show, “Catfish,” starring Nev Schulman and Max Joseph, exposes these “puppet masters.” I call them puppet masters because they are good at manipulating others.
I don’t understand how some people can fall into this trap. The warning signs are right there. I believe in love and how it can be blind, but not that blind. Now, I will admit that some stories online turn out to have happy endings, but based off what we hear and have seen on TV, that is very rare.
I interviewed two people that have tried online dating and have continued to utilize online dating services. One case ended in heartbreak, and the other relationship is still ongoing. In both interviews, I changed their names for their protection.
Karen was head over heels in love with a guy she dated online for two years. After two years of dating, he finally came to the tates for them to meet and she happily invited him to stay in her home. After two nights of staying with her, he decided that the relationship wasn’t working for him.
He then up and left and she was left heart broken. However, after she moved on from him, she tried online dating again, and that experience repeated itself.
In my second interview, Jackie met this wonderful girl on Tumblr about a year and half ago. Jackie and Crystal both live on opposite sides of the country. The relationship started slowly but then picked up two months after they met.
They began talking more and more and developed an open relationship. They made an agreement that they could date other people but they both knew in the end they would come back to each other.
As their feelings grew for each other, they became jealous of each other’s relationships and decided to pursue a long distance relationship. They now Skype every night and hope to move to Georgia together after college. However, before that happens, Jackie plans to meet face to face with Crystal this summer for the first time.
While online dating can often be risky, occasionally, it can work out for those involved. Just watch out for those catfish!
