What do people do when they don’t understand it or it’s foreign to them? Well, if you’re a rational adult, you either do nothing or learn about it. If you’re like way too many people in this world, you make fun of it and assume that it’s garbage just because you don’t understand it. We see people making fun of online dating all the time and frankly it’s comically annoying.

If you’re here, you probably have a family member or friend that is giving you a hard time for trying to find love online. They probably say things like, “online dating is only for weirdos,” or “you’re going to get abducted dating online.” While we can find a way to appreciate that they care more about our lives than their own, it’s still annoying and way off base.

In this guide, we’re going to talk about how you can go about dealing with people making fun of online dating. We’ll give you some tips and tricks of what to say and how to get them to lighten up. While it doesn’t really matter what other people think, it can be tough when they’re your friends and family and are otherwise nice people who just seem to have a hatred for online dating.

Ask Them If They’ve Had a Bad Experience Dating Online | The Trap

We don’t like being sneaky, but…okay, we like clever tricks when they are ethical and work in our favor. Here’s a great one that you can use to shut someone down when they are making fun of you for using online dating. It doesn’t even really matter what their reasoning for hating it is; this should still work.

When they start giving you their spiel, ask them if the reason they don’t like online dating is because they had a bad experience with it. 9 times out of 10 they are going to say no. Then you can follow up and say, “So, you actually have no personal experience with online dating?” To this, you’ll probably leave them speechless.

They might come back with a line about how they personally didn’t have a bad experience, but they have heard a lot of stories about people who have had bad experiences in online dating. Ask them for specifics. Keep pressing. Don’t be aggressive or raise your voice or anything. What you are doing is slowly leading them down the path of realizing they have no idea what they’re talking about.

If they do happen to have a horror story from online dating, then you can quickly realize you’re probably not going to get them onboard. But, for the other masses that are just making fun of online dating because it’s foreign to them, it should make them realize their unfounded statements.

Online Dating Has Come a Long Way

Another common way people will make fun of online dating is by calling it weird. They’ll say it’s just strange and that it’s only for weird people. They are, of course, entitled to their own opinion, but they’re clearly wrong here. In online dating’s early days, the stigma that it was for people who were strange and cast out from society got started.

Somehow, throughout the two decades plus that it’s been around, this stigma hasn’t been changed. But online dating has changed. Now, online dating is a place for busy people who have a lot of great things going on in their lives to get together and meet each other. It’s for people that have too much awesome stuff going on to spend time trolling bars looking for love. It’s for people who like to get results.

Online dating produces results for millions of “normal” people every single year. Now, we all know this, but how do you tell your friend or family member who is giving you a hard time this in a short and concise way?

It’s simple. Tell them that online dating has changed and it’s predominantly for busy and successful people who don’t have time to troll bars to find love. Tell them it’s for people that are tired of meeting low-quality singles without a lot going for them. Tell them that the times have changed and technology is changing the way that we meet and fall in love. Tell them if they’re too old school to get with the times that is their problem.

Feel free to memorize that word for word if you want in case you need it at the next family reunion or get together with friends.

Ask Them to Stop

If none of the above things work to stop someone from making fun of you or giving you a hard time for dating online, then you can take the easy approach. Just ask them to stop. Tell them that it’s something you’re excited about and you’d appreciate it if they could get behind you and support you. If they’re worried about your safety, tell them that you’re going to be safe and that you’ve read our awesome online dating safety guide. You can even forward it to them if you want them to see how seriously you’re taking your safety.

Here’s the thing. This does not need to be a long conversation. You do not have to defend why you are choosing to use online dating to find love. You’re a grown adult, and you are entitled to make your own life decisions which include the mediums that you use to find love. If they can’t understand that and can’t leave you alone about something important to you, then they are a crappy friend or a crappy family member.

They should care about your happiness. Just because they don’t understand online dating does not mean they can chastise you for using it and make fun of you. Sure, they can give you their opinion and let you know they are concerned about your safety. But, at some point, they have to let you do what you think is going to make you the happiest.

The Wrap Up

It stinks that some people aren’t capable of handling things that are confusing or foreign to them like adults. But, it is the world we live in, and we are forced to adapt to it. Here’s the last thing we want you to take away. You do not have to endure verbal lashings from people about your dating life. If they’re important to you, you can give them the time to voice their concerns in an adult manner and allow you to address them.

But, once they do that, they need to understand that this is something you’re doing. It’s not like you started a drug cartel or are thinking about climbing Mt. Everest (which we think would be awesome). You’re simply using your computer and technology to try and find someone special to bring you happiness. You’re at more of a security risk using Facebook or another social media platform than you are in a highly monitored online dating environment.

Do you and do what makes you happy.