Pros and cons of dating apps?

[Ella]

I want my friend to get out there and start dating again. She was in a 6 year relationship and has been single now for almost 2 years. I want her to be able to meet new people and I though using a dating app could help with that. I have never used one so I know nothing about them. What are the pros and cons of dating apps? 

[James]

I have never used a dating app in my life. 

I would think the pros are you can virtually meet a bunch of people quickly or browse profiles like you are shopping at a store. A huge con would be you do not know how much information in the profiles are true. On the internet people can be whoever they want to be and it is a little harder to sniff through all the bullsh*t that you can easily spot in real life. 

[Brenden]

I've used dating sites for quite a while myself, from stuff like okcupid, pof and a few others that have since died out. The big thing is, that you'll probably have better luck meeting people in person versus a dating site/app. So the cons that I can remember are: 

• Tons of fake accounts - You will find many fake accounts, usually for phishing attempts. They'll ask you to go to a site to see their more adult photos, or they'll request you to use a different app to talk. Also, you will see many fake accounts using photos of celebs and adult performers. 
• Some sites let you like others, but if someone likes you, they don't usually show you who they are, unless you pay their fees, and usually they're bots that like you back anyway. At least from my experience with POF. 
• People lie a lot - So many fake account is one thing, but you'll see people altering their photos a lot to have a better chance of matching. 
• Free dating sites suck, because you have so many limitations. They will require you to pay to do most things, like see who you matched with, or even sometimes message who you matched with. Depending on the site of course. 

Pros: 

• You can meet someone sometimes
• There are some free sites out there. Facebook even has a dating option, and it's all 100% free with your account. And it's not half bad. But, there are fake accounts starting to pop up, but for the most part, I see less fake accounts there than any other site. 
• You meet new friends - Not always do you meet potential partners, but you'll also make friends. A girl I chatted with a lot in the past, has become a good friend. I wanted to date her, but we ended up being just friends. Which is ok, but the point of a dating site is to find love darn it. 😞 

 

[Sophia]

I never used one so I am not sure what to list as pros or cons! I will say that I know a few people who have had successful relationships form through them and two of these people ended up getting married as a result! 

[Mila]

I think the biggest pro of dating apps is being able to get to know someone without spending money or going out and happening to meet someone in a public setting. It is easier for people who struggle to meet to people too. The major downside to this is that people can easily lie and mislead people. I guess it is a catch 22. I would much rather meet someone online through a community than on a dating site but that is just me!

[Jeremy_CLK]

Well, i would say the pros include:

• Ability to talk to someone before you meet, this one reduces the tension.
• Ability to meet people from diverse backgrounds.
• You can sample from a database of many of them and select the one that perfectly fit your minimum requirements.

On the other hand, the cons would be:

• What you see online may not be what you will get in real life.
• There is high risk of falling for a bad person or someone with bad intentions.
• There is possibility of lust overtaking genuine emotions.