Internet Dating; Take Heed Of These Red Flags

The first step in internet dating is creating a profile; you post some photos of yourself, and you list your personal characteristics. You include some interesting facts about yourself and perhaps a funny anecdote or two to show off your sense of humor. And if you’re at all blessed with the gift of the gab, you can probably write a novella about your life while you’re at it.

When that’s complete, you start searching for your dream date. Using the site’s search engine, you fill in the “must haves” and wait while the dating site returns its results. Usually only a few seconds go by until a list of profiles is displayed.

Now before you get too comfortable reading them, here are some things you should watch out for when looking for your Prince or Princess Charming. Qualities that speak volumes about a person, in a less than flattering way!

Spitefulness. The occasional sarcastic remark disguised as a joke is amusing. But if your date has nothing but sarcastic and critical things to say about the people in his or her life, think twice. Ask yourself this question; If your date says nothing upbeat and encouraging about anyone else, what is he or she going to say about you?

Previous relationships. Almost all of us have relationships in our past. And we likely keep some of them to ourselves because they weren’t a highlight in our lives. Someone who has a half dozen or more creepy relationship tales to tell may be someone who hasn’t learned anything from their past mistakes. They may enjoy playing the victim, but will you enjoy being portrayed as the “bad guy”?

A BIG Chip On Their Shoulder. People who are angry all the time are likely people who haven’t learned anything from their past experiences. Even more important, they blame everyone but themselves for their lack of success in all aspects of their life. You can bet that if you become involved with someone like this you’ll get your share of the blame sooner or later.

Polar Opposites. It’s true that opposites attract, but some differences are just too great to ignore. Big issues about which you are on opposite sides of the fence like religion, whether or not to have children, and drinking and drugs, are relationship killers. You may have fun in the short term, but long term? Not so much.

Dating and internet dating should be about getting to know someone better. If the person you’re dating exhibits any of the above characteristics, take care. Give some thought as to whether these traits could present big problems down the road, and make your decision accordingly.