Online Disabled Dating: Getting Down to Business
Author: Ian C. Langtree - View Credentials
Published: 27 Sep 2009 - Updated: 10 Feb 2024
Publication Type: Informative
Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Overview - Related Content
Synopsis
Information and advice on costs involved when joining online disabled dating websites for persons with disabilities.
Overview
Online dating is a great way to filter the general population down to just those that you are interested in. There are also tools and features that allow you to get to know your prospective date before actually meeting in person.
If I'm going to get into online dating for the first time, where do I go? Or, if I'm a veteran of online dating ("veteran" meaning I've had little success), how do I improve my chances of find that perfect soul mate that almost all dating sites and matching services promise?
Remember that in the previous installment you've now made a decision as to how much of our resources (time, effort, emotion, and money) you want to invest in finding your life partner through an online dating service.
Once you've selected the site (or sites) you are interested in, decide what information you want to share. Consider carefully how you describe yourself and what you are looking for in a matches. Have some great pictures ready for upload. You'll want at least one "head shot" and a few showing you in action. Go ahead and show your entire body - it's going to be seen, eventually. Also, be thorough but succinct when describing yourself. Remember, you are selling a very valuable product but you have lots of competition. Be clear and concise.
Here are a few other tips to maximize your chances:
Your profile:
- Be Honest
- Be clear about who you're looking for
- Consider creating a few standardized emails that you will send as your initial communications
- Upload a great pictures and a few others showing yourself in action
- Update and change your profile frequently
- Search and research
- Have a plan for assessing your potential date
- Make sure you know what you want to know before you move to the next step
- Start with email, then chat, then a phone call
- Do your homework and due-diligence
- Make your first meeting informal
Maximize your safety:
- Never give your real name, address, or telephone number to anyone until you are certain they are to be trusted.
- Establish an email address just for online dating.
- Never give financial information, credit card numbers, passwords, etc.
- Plan to meet your date for the first time in a public place.
- It's a good idea to take a friend, or let a friend know, where you are meeting. You may even want them to call you during the date to make sure you are okay.
- Real relationships take time to develop. Be patient.
- And just like dating under any circumstances, look for the red flag. If you see it, don't be discouraged, go back to the site and start your search again.
Online dating is a great way to filter the general population down to just those that you are interested in. There are also tools and features that allow you to get to know your prospective date before actually meeting in person. That person is out there - now go and find them!
Previous Installments:
Disabled Dating: Online Dating Size and Scope
Disabled Dating: Online Dating Using Technology to your Advantage
Author Credentials: Ian C. Langtree is a writer, editor, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, which he established in 2004 as one of the longest-running independent resources for disability news and information. Over more than two decades, he has written and edited thousands of articles on disability rights, health, accessibility, and assistive technology. Drawing on a global perspective shaped by extensive travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed advocate of the Social Model of Disability, the framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that focuses on removing societal barriers rather than on individual impairments. His writing is grounded in that framework and in a lasting commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.