Stick to your goals and move on. Avoid making your goals too rigid. Use them as a guideline for what you want overall, but try to avoid goals like, "I would like to be married within two years. Take care of yourself. You are more likely to feel good about getting involved with someone else when you feel good about your relationship with yourself.

Practice daily self-care, which can include anything from exercise to time to meditate. This may include daily exercise, cooking healthy or satisfying meals, seeing friends or family, or anything else that makes you feel like you are doing the best possible things for you. Take some time to indulge, as well. If you have had a particularly difficult day, for example, rather than letting the stress follow you home, take time to relax and pamper yourself that evening. This helps let you know that you are worth-it.

Part 3. Look for a specialized site. If the thought of thousands of people having access to your profile makes you nervous, look for a compatibility-based site. These sites use algorithms to match you with compatible members, and only those members can see your profile. Be specific. Online dating offers you the unique opportunity to get to know someone before you actually meet them. Highlight your personality. Think about those first-date facts, the details you would use to set you apart when you first meet someone, and put them in your profile.

Post one picture. This is no more true than posting your image to social media, but if putting your face on an online dating site makes you nervous, start by posting just one photo of yourself. Try to avoid pictures where your face is obstructed. If posting a group photo makes you feel more comfortable, be sure to clarify which person you are in your profile or in a caption.

Part 4. Move off the dating website. Before you meet in person, move your communication off of the dating website. You may opt to video chat, text, or exchange calls before the date, but moving your communication to a new platform can help you feel more secure before meeting this person. This gives you a way to communicate to plan the date, as well as check up on their contact information. Keep it casual. Avoid meals or activities like movies that happen for a fixed period of time.

Avoid loud venues or activities that will keep you too occupied to chat. If you are greatly enjoying the date, you can stay for another cup or drink, or transition the date into a new activity such as dinner or a walk. Meet in public. Arrange to meet in a public place such as a popular coffee shop or bar. If your match asks you meet in private or at their house, refuse completely. Let them know that you are only comfortable meeting in public for a first date.

Have a signal such as a text you can send to a friend to let them know if you feel unsafe or want their help exiting the date. Give it a couple meetings before you let them know where you live.

Did you know you can get expert answers for this article? Unlock expert answers by supporting wikiHow. Sarah Schewitz, PsyD Licensed Psychologist. Sarah Schewitz, PsyD. Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer. Yes No. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 2. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Make your profile unique, but do not disclose personal information about yourself such as your name, the name of the company that you work for, or your phone number.

Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Always read the terms and privacy policy of the site before signing up so that you understand what information the site may make public, as well as the cancellation policy. You Might Also Like The 15 Best Ways to Answer "Tell Me About Yourself" on a Dating App. How to. How to View Your Bumble Matches: Easy Guide for Beginners.

Wondering if Someone Likes You Online? We all do. But ponder it a few moments more. The idea that someday somebody will love all our flaws is a subtle excuse not to work on them. The principle of two halves making a whole restrains us from becoming our own better half. We want someone to swoop in during our darkest hour and save us, but what if we knew they never would? If you knew that love would never be an option for you, what would be? How would you structure the rest of your life?

Would it have a heavier focus on career, a stronger inclination toward success? Or would you use the time to invest in yourself — go on a few more vacations, travel further outside your comfort zone? If you knew that you would never again feel the rush of budding romance, where would you turn to for your thrills?

How would you get your blood pumping? And what about your other relationships — would they suddenly take on more weight? Would you spend more time appreciating your family, if you knew that they are the people who will have loved you the most strongly at the end of your life? What about your friendships? Would you nurture and care more for the people who love you platonically if you knew that nobody would ever love you romantically?

Would you show up a little more often, share a little more of your life? My inclination is to believe that never finding love would be a game-changer for most of us. Without the fear of ending up alone, the opportunities open to you would become endless. The more busy they are, the less time they have to browse online dating sites, perform searches, and initiate conversations of their own.

By making the first move, you are putting yourself directly in front of the people you want to attract, and drastically increasing your odds of scoring a desirable date. Believe me, I get it. I highly recommend writing these things down as part of the brainstorming phase. Just free write. Pretend you are having a conversation with a friend and simply write how you speak.

Just write. Once you stop writing, then you can go back, edit, provide some structure, and fine tune the details. If you still have no idea what to write, one of my most popular Huffington Post articles can be found here , which will teach you 7 online dating profile tips that will make you the type of woman others will practically fight over online. Or you can read this article that will teach you how the best online dating profiles market themselves.

I assure you, the New York Times will not be reviewing and dissecting your every word. Neither will your potential dates. My best advice when you write emails is to focus on a commonality that the two of you share or something the other person is passionate about. If you can be playful as well with your message, even better. Meeting online is not lame.

Romantic comedies where people bump into each other in a random location, hate each others guts at first, start to like each other, fall in love, have a big misunderstanding, realize they had a big misunderstanding, get married, and live happily ever after.

Just about nobody has a truly memorable where we met story. And even if you do have a memorable story, nobody else is really going to care all that much.

Joshua Pompey is an online dating and relationship expert. For more online dating advice from Joshua Pompey, including the strategies he directly uses with his staff to professionally write online dating profiles , you can read this free article.

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Last Updated: January 24, References. This article was co-authored by Sarah Schewitz, PsyD. Sarah Schewitz, Psy. is a licensed clinical psychologist by the California Board of Psychology with over 10 years of experience. She received her Psy. from the Florida Institute of Technology in She is the founder of Couples Learn, an online psychology practice helping couples and individuals improve and change their patterns in love and relationships.

There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 35, times. Online dating is an increasingly common way to meet new potential romantic partners. Still, some find that they fear online dating because it puts too much personal information out there for strangers, or that it otherwise sets them up to meet unpleasant or unappealing matches. The truth is, though, that online dating is as safe and enjoyable as any other form of dating, as long as you pick the right site, put some effort into meeting the right matches, and practice safety when meeting in person for the first time.

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Learn why people trust wikiHow. Categories Relationships Dating Online Dating How to Overcome a Fear of Online Dating. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles.

Co-authored by Sarah Schewitz, PsyD Last Updated: January 24, References. Part 1. Evaluate the numbers. If your fear of online dating springs from the idea that people will think less of you for using a website to meet a potential partner, remind yourself of the facts. It is a safe and common way to meet others. Make a list of reasons you're valuable. Help build your self-worth by creating a list of things you like about yourself, or that make you worth-while.

Include things you like about your life, your job, your personality, and your appearance. It can be difficult to get this list started, so try asking yourself, "What would my best friend say is my best quality? If you are body-conscious, try to find at least one thing you like about your appearance.

Tell yourself, "I have amazing eyes," and try to focus on that feature that you like rather than what you dislike.

Remind yourself of compliments you have received in the past about your eyes and write these down. If you are not currently happy with the course of your life or your career, remind yourself that there is still good in what you do. Tell yourself, "I can pay my bills and I can find the humor in small things, and that makes my life worthwhile, just as it is. Eventually, the positive thinking becomes inherent.

Brush off rejection. The biggest fear in online dating is the biggest fear people have when dating in general: getting rejected. Remind yourself that if you do not hear back from a potential match, or if your match expresses that they are not interested in you, try not to dwell on the rejection. Remember that rejection is a sign that you are stepping outside of your comfort zone. This could get you blocked or your account suspended, and it will not bring you any closer to having a meaningful relationship.

Tell yourself, "Maybe they decided to get serious with someone they already met. The best way to get past rejection is to meet someone new. Send a message to someone else and work on finding a connection elsewhere. Part 2. Accept your fear. It's alright to have some apprehensions about online dating, just as it is with any form of dating. The challenge is not to eliminate your fear, but to acknowledge it and find ways to work through it.

For each reason, write out a worst-case-scenario. For example, you might be afraid of rejection, and the worst case may be that a match ridicules you for thinking you had a chance with them. For each negative scenario, find a way to overcome it.

Let yourself know that someone who ridicules you for approaching them is not worth your time or love, and that you are better off not inviting that kind of negativity into your life. Set goals. Dating, by its very nature, can involve a lot of emotions very quickly.

To avoid becoming swept up in something emotional but not right for you, set goals from the beginning. Decide if you are looking for a serious or casual relationship, and whether you want monogamy or would like to date around. If you meet a great person who wants a serious relationship while you are looking for something casual, don't assume you can change them.

Stick to your goals and move on. Avoid making your goals too rigid. Use them as a guideline for what you want overall, but try to avoid goals like, "I would like to be married within two years.

Take care of yourself. You are more likely to feel good about getting involved with someone else when you feel good about your relationship with yourself. Practice daily self-care, which can include anything from exercise to time to meditate. This may include daily exercise, cooking healthy or satisfying meals, seeing friends or family, or anything else that makes you feel like you are doing the best possible things for you.

Take some time to indulge, as well. If you have had a particularly difficult day, for example, rather than letting the stress follow you home, take time to relax and pamper yourself that evening. This helps let you know that you are worth-it. Part 3. Look for a specialized site. If the thought of thousands of people having access to your profile makes you nervous, look for a compatibility-based site. These sites use algorithms to match you with compatible members, and only those members can see your profile.

Be specific. Online dating offers you the unique opportunity to get to know someone before you actually meet them. Highlight your personality. Think about those first-date facts, the details you would use to set you apart when you first meet someone, and put them in your profile. Post one picture.

Evaluate the numbers. If you are greatly enjoying the date, you can stay for another cup or drink, or transition the date into a new activity such as dinner or a walk. Remind yourself that if you do not hear back from a potential match, or if your match expresses that they are not interested in you, try not to dwell on the rejection. Not knowing how to write a profile. This article has been viewed 35, times.

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