The Pros and Cons of Researching Your Date

With access to the internet and social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, it’s easy to find information about people online with only a little bit of information about them. This means that once you have been chatting for a while and have found out a bit more about your date, you will likely be able to find out information about them that they may not have wished to have shared with you so soon into a relationship.

As easy as it is should you Google your date, should you do it?

Pros of researching someone

Fact checking

We always encourage people to be honest about who they are, but that doesn’t always stop people from pretending to be younger, taller, slimmer… than they really are. By looking at other information about someone online, you will be able to check for any inconsistencies in their dating profile text.

Finding out more

If you aren’t sure about someone, based on their online dating profile and their messages alone, then their social media channels might be able to tell you more about who they are as a person and will give you a larger snapshot of their lifestyle.

Scammer checking

We have lots of measures in place to ensure that scammers don’t join Muddy Matches, but if you join other dating websites, it can be helpful to do some online research to see if your potential date has been mentioned on any scammer forums.

Cons

Removing the magic

One of the great joys of dating someone is getting to know them slowly. By looking at their social media feeds you will find out lots of information quickly and it will ruin the process of getting to know them better.

Jealousy

Looking at photos of your potential date cuddled up to someone else will make you feel jealous, even if the photo is really of them hugging their best friend, or sibling. It can make you really jealous and suspicious if you stumble upon photos of their ex and start comparing yourself to them.

Intrusive

It’s an odd feeling to know that someone has been online stalking you and it can be off-putting for your date to find out that you have been trawling through their online information.

It is best to avoid checking someone’s online presence unless you are suspicious about them.