Online dating has no doubt put a confident foot forward as the go to place to hook up in the modern world. Whether it’s for something casual or even if you’re looking for the love of your life, online dating has definitely secured its audience. But despite being a concept that reeks of modernity participants still face a downside that has been a by-product of dating since the dawn of time – rejection.
Nobody likes it, but everyone experiences it, when they dip their toes into the murky waters of the dating pool. Whether online or offline rejection happens and it doesn’t matter your age, sex, looks, job and so on. None are immune, simply because we are all different and we all like different things. So the best attitude to take is to not take it all too seriously when you experience rejection in the online dating world. As they say, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there’s plenty more fish in the sea’.
How To Deal With It When It Does Happen
Don’t Mope – When it does happen don’t take rejection personally. You are not the first to be rejected and you won’t be the last. Don’t try to over-analysis why you didn’t get a response or the communication suddenly ceases when you put yourself out there online. It may have little or nothing to do with you and more to do with what is going on in the other person’s life. But whatever you do, don’t mope. Try doing something fun with friends, or anything that makes you feel happy, chalk it up to experience and try again.
Use Your Experiences As A Learning Curve – Although rejection can often have nothing to do with you, if you find this seems to be happening all too often it might be wise to reassess your approach to see if you are perpetuating the same mistakes. Are you messaging too much? This can be a real turn off, especially if you only just connected online. Have your communications set the right tone? Using inappropriate language, coming on too strong or making too many assumptions too quickly, can all be reasons why you’re not getting the responses you want or any responses at all. Best rule of thumb is to keep it light and friendly in the initial stages until you know a little more about your online interest.
Make Some Changes – If you’re not quite getting the amount of responses you’re hoping for, or if the quality of those responses is far from appealing, there are some things you can do to improve your chances. You could try giving your online profile a makeover. This does not mean being dishonest. But if you really put some thought into your profile it can make all the difference. Make sure your photo is recent and accurate. It can be one of you doing something fun or interesting but make sure you can be clearly seen and you don’t look like a spec in the distance. Don’t be too serious or corny. Including something funny or interesting always makes for a more appealing profile. Above all, make it a true reflection of who you are and what you’re really looking for.
What you always need to do is keep it in perspective. You have no idea who the other person is at the end of an online connection so why should you care if they reject you. They have no real significance in your life at this point, so treat it that way. And why waste your time on the angst of the unknown when the rejection may have nothing to do with you personally. So pull up your big girl panties or your big boy undies and get on with finding someone who you can have a genuine connection with.
