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Online Dating
Online dating is becoming more and more a part of mainstream culture with applications like Tindr and websites like Match.com. Online dating comes with its benefits for people with disabilities who may not have the energy (or desire – thank you very much!) to go out and try to meet people in bars and clubs.
However, it quickly brings up the question of whether to disclose a disability, and when to do it. Do you write about it in your profile? Do you bring it up before the first date? Everyone has different answers according to their comfort level. My online dating profile featured a photo of me eating a burrito in a hospital gown, soo… To each their own.
A big issue with online dating is safety. Anyone can make a dating profile, and more often than not, the content isn’t entirely truthful. Be careful about giving out personal information. At the same time, try to collect personal information from the other person. Look for their other online profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. to make sure everything matches up. Consider having a conversation over the phone or video chat before meeting in person. This will make you feel more comfortable with each other when you meet in person, too.
Those of you who have had experience with online dating, do you have any tips to share? Which sites, if any have you had success with? What issues have come up?
Sharing your misadventures can be healing. Just last night, my friend and I were swapping stories of really bad dates we went on that could have been avoided if we’d had a better filter for online suitors. Lots of lessons to learn. I’d love to hear some of your stories, and as you’ve probably guessed after the burrito-eating picture, I’m an open book.
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