[Brandon]

Online dating is great. My girlfriend and I just celebrated our year anniversary, and I met her on the internet. My mom was into online dating, and I think that people give it bad rep when they do something stupid. You've done the right thing by being smart when it comes to online dating...being respectful, but also being cautious. There are a lot of weird people out there...not just on the internet but in real life also. Online dating is the best resource for people who are single and looking for a relationship, so I'm glad you made a good decision by trying it out.

With that being said...you cannot try to date other people while you're in love with someone. I'm sure you may be thinking...well, if I date other people...maybe I'll end up liking someone else instead of my best friend. While it may seem like a good idea, it rarely works out that way. As long as you're in love with your best friend, a part of you is going to hope that your best friend falls for you. You have the consider the possibility of something like that happening, and what will happen when now YOU are in a committed relationship with someone you like. Are you going to dump the guy to be with your best friend now that the door has been opened? You can't be in love with anyone else...so either you need to stop being in love with your best friend, or you need to patiently wait. Otherwise, potentially...you may break another person's heart and at that point...it's gonna be a "I told you so."

Now, there's a potential problem with dating services because they mostly target a select audience...people who can't get relationships or people who get all the wrong types of relationships. For a lot of people, dating services are a last alternative...so you need to consider the fact that some people may have low self-confidence, low social skills, etc. So it's kind of a game of chance. People can say all the things they want to on the internet, but in reality...things could be a little bit different interaction. If you go on one date and you don't like the presentation, that's life. You have no obligation to continue dating, continue messaging the guy, or anything. It's not heart break when you let him down as soon as possible...otherwise he'll develop an emotional attachment and it'll end up being worse than it should be. He goes on a dating service, so there's always someone who is gonna message him again at some point. Don't worry about what happens to him. As long as it doesn't directly reflect your life, he could commit suicide and it still wouldn't be your problem.