The consequences of online dating – I’m not living in San Francisco or Detroit. The city I live in is a small town by many standards with just 12,000 inhabitants. Nowadays it seems like online dating is THE solution for busy people to find a mate. This sounds great because it ups your chances for love – in case there are many people to choose from. But let me tell you what that means for a regular dude in a small town …

I’ve personally run across profiles of several dudes from my middle school, a woman who works at my favorite starbucks, a close friend and believe it or not – my doc (who might be using his profile for promoting his business I guess). It seems like no big deal. But you have to keep in mind that stumbling across what is essentially a personals ad for someone you usually see in a completely different light can be jarring. It can make things awkward when you two meet again in person. And it can bring up issues you never thought about before. Maybe I’m to old-fashioned. Maybe this will be common in a decade or two. But right now to me it seems a little bit awkward.

Your single boss could stumble upon your profile and find out you actually don’t like your job – and him. You might hit on your son’s teacher, jeopardizing your relationship with someone you need to be able to count on. You could run into someone you recently rejected while you’re sauntering down the street and have to figure out whether to ignore him or say something. And do you really want to see your ex’s profile? How about your roommate’s and your best friend’s?

In times of Facebook, Twitter, SocialFlirt and millions of other social networking sites, we’re starting to learn that the question of who has access to your info can really matter. If anything, it’s yet another reason to be cautious about what we send out over the Web, and maybe even another chance to reexamine how it’s affecting our real lives.

Consequences of Online Dating