The early stages of communication in online dating can be interesting and fun. Once reviewing a match’s profile and determining that you have an initial interest in exploring online dating, emailing with them and is a great way to begin a dialogue. Whether Christian dating or mainstream dating, the same progression applies.
The natural next step in the process is to meet your match in person on a first date. Before doing so, it is a good idea to understand a few basic things about them. The following are five questions you should ask (or get answers to) before meeting up with your matches on a real first date.
Are you single?
Believe it or not, many people you meet online will either be beginning or ending a relationship with someone else when you first communicate with them. Confirm that your new online dating match is both unmarried and not currently in a relationship. Moreover, it’s important to understand whether they are available and open to a new relationship. Sometimes these questions are difficult to find out with the initial email stage and have to be understood once you actually have a first date.
What are you looking for?
Our framework in the Christian dating world is to seek an online match for a long term relationship that could lead to marriage. Perhaps you are looking for something different from your online dating endeavors. Whatever your goals for online dating, try to understand what your online match is seeking. Are they new to a city and looking for a friend? Are they recently out of a long term relationship and needing a fling? The key here is to find out whether your match is seeking the same things that you are.
Why did you join this online dating site?
The motivations behind why someone joined an online dating site provide great insight into their profile. It is important to not put your match on the defensive when asking, but ask anyway. On the flip side, make sure that you have a good answer to this very same question. Why did you join this specific dating site?
Tell me an important detail about you that is not in your profile.
Online dating profiles can be relatively thin with information and biography. Online daters in general are known to be notoriously superficial in their reasons for selecting first dates. Try to get beyond the superficiality by having your match tell you about what’s important to them, particularly something that isn’t listed in their online dating profile.
Talk briefly about one of your passions. Do they have an interest?
It’s important to share passions and interests in a relationship. The point here is not to filter a person if they don’t share one of your interests, the point is to identify their reaction. Are they open and willing to learning more about surfing or hiking or wine tasting? Even if your match knows nothing about one of your life’s passions, their openness and enthusiasm for understanding your interests is a key indicator for potential success in a relationship.
