Loneliness is one of the common challenges faced by seniors in their retirement years, especially if they have lost any of their loved ones, be it a spouse, child, or any other close relative. Fortunately, we are living in the age of social media, and many websites can help you make new connections, romantic or otherwise. In this article, we will explore the world of online dating, particularly for people aged 50 or older.
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Safety First: Navigating the Online Dating World
The most important thing in terms of online dating is to keep safe. First, one must ensure that the app or website being used is authentic — this generally involves using reputable services and websites, or looking up online reviews for specific service platforms. Even when only using authentic online dating apps, it is still important to keep some important safety tips in mind before getting started. After all, you’re going to be interacting with individuals you’ve never met before.
Here are some important safety tips to ensure a safe online dating experience:
- Guard Your Finances: Never share your financial information, property information, or bank details with anyone you are dating online or haven’t met in person. Avoid responding to requests for money, no matter how dire the situation may seem. For dating apps or websites that require payment, confirm their reputation on a reputable review site or forum such as Yelp! or Google reviews.
- Be Authentic: When creating your online dating profile, honesty is the best policy. Don’t misrepresent your age, appearance, financial status, or any other aspect of your life. Authenticity is important in order to build genuine connections.
- Look for inconsistencies: As much as you should be authentic, you should also be wary of others who may be inauthentic. Look for inconsistencies in the information that is provided — if a person’s age, location, pictures, or any other details don’t match, it is possible that they are not being truthful.
- Protect Personal Information: Don’t share your address, phone number, or passwords with anyone.
- Choose Safe Meeting Spots: When you decide to meet up in person, make sure you choose public places, such as restaurants, parks, or malls. It may even be advisable to bring a trusted friend or family member along, even if they sit at a different table. Avoid private spaces, such as hotels or homes, at least until you truly get to know and trust someone.
- Beware of Premature Declarations of Love: Avoid people who express love too early in an online relationship without taking the time to get to know you.
Online Dating Platforms for Seniors
Here are three common online dating platforms for seniors. Using these sites is very easy, and they can be used by any senior, regardless of their age or gender.
Match
Match is an online dating platform that is initially free, but after you select your partner and want to talk further after the first few texts, you will need to purchase a 3, 6, or 12-month membership plan.
If you are a new member who is not sure about how the platform works, you can take advantage of the site’s free browsing option, which allows you to explore the website and look for potential matches free of charge for 3 days. For paid subscribers, the platform offers unlimited messaging and the ability to see who has liked your profile.
Match is available in 38 different languages and is active in 50 countries worldwide. It is a general dating site in which you can find people of all backgrounds, ages, genders, ethnicities, and orientations. After you join, you are able to fill out an in-depth profile, which includes the following information:
- About Me: In this section, you can describe your ethnicity, age, gender, relationship status, body type, faith, etc.
- Summary: For the summary, you can write an open-ended short description about yourself in your own words. Here, you can be creative and write any information about yourself that you would like to share with others.
- Your Hobbies and Interests: In this section, you can share your interests and hobbies.
- What You Are Looking For: Include details about what type of potential partner you are looking for. Being specific will increase your chances of finding compatible matches.
After you fill out your profile, Match uses the information to suggest mutually compatible members near your area. You can send a private message to any member you are interested in.
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SilverSingles
SilverSingles is a dating website designed exclusively for people aged 50 and older. It has both free and paid membership plans and is available across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Australia, and Germany.
After you join the platform, you’ll need to register, create a profile, and take a personality test so the app can match you with like-minded people.
The personality test includes various questions ranging from your preferences, likes, dislikes, thoughts about companionship, and how you view relationships. The test assists you in finding matches and eliminates some of the complexities of having to identify what specifically you are looking for. You can also retake the test if you aren’t satisfied with the initial results.
SilverSingles matches you with three to seven people daily until you find the right companion. With the basic membership plan, you will only have access to limited features, profiles, and communication options. To gain complete access to everything the website offers, you will have to purchase its premium membership plan. The premium plan allows you to communicate with other members of the platform, send direct messages, and comment on photos. It also gives you access to a comprehensive analysis of the results of the personality test you take.
OurTime
Ourtime is another online dating app that caters to adults and seniors aged 50 years and above. To use the dating app, you will need to sign up and create your profile, which only takes a few minutes.
Creating an account requires uploading your photo and adding some basic information about yourself, like your age, gender, location, and hobbies. OurTime sends at least eight matches per day to members based on their profile.
If you have purchased the site’s premium membership, you can manually search for matches by yourself based on your preferences and requirements, like height, physical build, location, age, religion, and others. Free members can also view and search profiles, and send limited likes. However, they cannot send, read, or receive messages, or check who has liked them.
Premium subscriptions include access to all of the following:
- Unlimited messaging
- Sending unlimited likes
- Ability to read and respond to messages
- Check who liked your profile
- ConnectMe access (This feature creates a unique phone number for both partners that can be used when communicating offline, thus eliminating the need to exchange personal contact information.)
- Check when your partner has read your message.
- Search profiles
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About the Author
Reviewed by Dr. Ryo Sanabria
Dr. Ryo Sanabria, PhD, was born and raised in New York. They received a B.A. and M.A. in biotechnology from CUNY Hunter College, and an M.A., M.Phil., and PhD in Nutrition and Metabolic Sciences from Columbia University. Dr. Sanabria is a professor who currently teaches at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Their areas of expertise include gerontology, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, and nutrition. They are the recipient of many awards and grants and have authored numerous research papers. The most rewarding part of their work is training and mentoring new scientists. Dr. Sanabria is an avid fitness enthusiast, and in their free time, they enjoy marathon running and weight-lifting. Dr. Sanabria's pronouns are they/them/their.
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