If you’ve ever dedicatedly searched for a match for yourself on a dating site, then you know how tedious and time-consuming this process can be. At first, everything seems interesting and exciting — useful search tools, a huge selection of potential partners, colorful profiles. But after a few days, weeks or months, all this gets boring. Especially if the searches never come up with the expected results. At this point, the average person usually decides to pause, rest a little and then return to the search with renewed vigor.
The problem is that it can be very, very difficult to start dating again after a break. And the longer the break was, the more difficult it can be. The reasons can be very varied:
- A site or application update which makes it hard for you to use it and get used to it again.
- The introduction of paid features that you used before for free.
- Difficulties in communication with new people that arise due to a lack of connection.
Many psychologists state that the longer a person is alone, the more they get used to their loneliness. And one day there comes a moment when they simply cease to strive to find a mate for themselves. That’s bad. A human is a social being, and the absence of a partner or at least good friends can cause depression, loss of energy, apathy and complete disappointment in your own life. If right now you’re experiencing some difficulties in starting dating after a long break, the following information is for you:
How to start dating: 7 helpful bits of advice
- Stop seeking approval from others. This is one of the subtle factors that prevent you from making new acquaintances. Being alone for a long time, it’s very easy to slip into navel-gazing and self-doubt, and start to hope that others will alleviate this insecurity with their praise. Don’t wait for the approval. Be yourself and try to distance yourself a little from the opinions of others — it will become easier.
- Forget the phrase “I have few friends”. By saying it to a stranger or unfamiliar person, you push them away. They will think that if you have few friends, then something is clearly wrong with you. And they will begin to fear continuing a relationship. So never say anything like that, even if you think it’s true.
- Before the meeting, think about what you are really interested in and what you would like to discuss with other people. Common conversation topics are the best things that can help you build strong and lasting relationships. One more tip: try to put the interests of the other person in the conversation above your own. Your interest is the best compliment for them.
- Remember personal boundaries. Many people, without realizing it, violate other people’s personal boundaries: they ask inappropriate questions, tell inappropriate stories, etc. Consider the issue of personal boundaries before starting actively dating. Do you know how to comply with them, and are you ready to defend your own? This might be worth working on.
- Refresh your wardrobe, hairstyle, and decor. Changing your image and environment is one of the best ways to become more confident, increase your self-esteem, and make it easier to connect with strangers. This is a kind of deception for our brain — we ourselves seem to be a different person, and therefore have fewer preconceptions and demands of ourselves.
- Work on your body language. Staying alone for a long time, a person stops using body language — gesticulating, using facial expressions, and so on. As a result, to people around them, they seem more dull and unemotional. Although in reality, this is not at all the case. We advise you to practice being animated in front of the mirror from time to time. You can just say random phrases, read poems or dialogue from your favorite book. The main thing is to show the emotions you feel.
- Try new dating formats. Millions of people are afraid to try new things. For example, year after year they only use social networks to find new friends and do not want to change anything. But that’s not a recipe for success. Make sure you try something new, otherwise you’ll go round in circles.
We’d like to discuss helpful dating services further. We hope that among them you’ll find something that will let you find new friends or even your long-awaited love.
Services for online dating that will help you
Let’s start with the classic online dating sites — there are more than eight thousand of these in the world! Let’s take a quick look at a few of the more popular ones.
- Bumble — not just a dating app to start a relationship. There is a Bumble Bizz section for finding jobs, employees, and even mentors. A very out-of-the-box approach.
- Feeld — a dating app for singles and couples. Plus, there are very flexible settings for finding a pair for representatives of non-traditional sexual orientations.
- Okcupid — a dating app that analyzes your profile and selects the perfect match for you. Amazingly, the algorithm works very well. OkCupid is aimed specifically at serious dating.
- eHarmony — one of the most popular dating apps in the US and several other countries. The developers state that every 14 minutes, someone finds love on eHarmony.
- Hinge — the only dating service that uses an algorithm that won the Nobel Prize. Developers, scientists, and dating experts are working on the application.
However, you shouldn’t limit yourself only to classic dating sites. We strongly recommend using their best alternative — cam chats. These are perfect sites for quick acquaintances, which help you not only look for new interesting people, but also to find a common language with them easier.
Among the most popular webcam chats we can name:
- Chatrandom — a convenient webcam chat with a gender filter, search for chat partners by interest, and themed chat rooms. There are apps for iOS and Android.
- Bazoocam — a popular random cam chat, albeit with a very outdated site design. One of the main features of Bazoocam is 18+ video streams.
- OmeTV — a quite easy-to-learn cam chat with a search for chat partners by country, a gender filter, and the function of automatically translating messages into the selected language. Convenient for communicating with foreign speakers.
- CooMeet — the best chat with girls. Video chat CooMeet.Chat connects men with girls only and vice versa. It’s very convenient and a great time saver.
- Omegle — the first live cam chat, with a very large user base. The site does not have the best moderation and no mobile apps, but Omegle is still very popular.
There are many more cam chats than this, but if you haven’t used this dating format yet, we advise you to start with the sites and applications above. You’ll definitely like them!
Dating again is easier after the first step
To start dating again after a long break can be very difficult. It seems that everything in the world is against you, and it is extremely difficult to find the strength to take the first step. But once you overcome your own fears, everything becomes much simpler, easier, and enjoyable.
We hope our recommendations will help you to deal with all difficulties and reconnect to the world. After all, no one should be alone, and you’re no exception! Good luck in making new friendships!
