Do you remember the first time you tried Online Dating?

I have tried online dating. A lot of my friends have. I think for my generation it is definitely 'a thing.' I did go out on dates but never had a relationship with anyone I met online. The relationships I've had, have been with people I've met through friends.

I did however, apply to go on The Bachelor! LOL! It's true! It was one of my favourite shows so eleven years ago or so I applied to go on. A friend and I went through a process similar to an audition but obviously didn't get through. I was of course single at the time but it was more about the experience rather than looking for love but I'm sure my now boyfriend is delighted I didn't get very far! Haha!

I had my own little experament with online dating in say the mid-naughties I guess. I did talk to people and go out on dates but if I'm honest it really wasn't my thing. It's true that there were people who didn't wanna say they met online but I wasn't one of them and had no problem telling the truth. Why should I?

I did join an activity group tho that was in my city. Altho it wasn't claiming to be a singles group, the majority of people who went to the group were single and a lot of of them did date, partner up, get married and have families. And once they met someone they stopped coming to the group so I get the feeling that was the reason why a lot of people joined the group. For me it was more about getting out of the house, meeting new friends and doing alot of outdoors activities. But that was wear I met my husband! Next year we will be married for ten years. I wasn't expecting to meet someone so that was wonderful. And if I'm honest I much prefer that to meeting online as you get that in-person connection plus you're going to events and doing activities with friends rather than just talking on a device.

I've been married for two years now but I've known my husband for a long time and we both met through our work in the fashion industry. But prior to meeting him, I did have my flutter with online dating. I can relate to a lot of the people on here in that I met some nice fellas but nothing came of it. And yes I did meet men who were not taking it very seriously. They were just wanted a laugh or were looking for a date to take to next weekend's party and nothing more than that. I feel that now, people are a lot more serious in hat they're looking for.

I'm 32 and it's quite true that people my age range and younger don't have an issue about meeting someone via the internet. My mum has told me all about personal ads and those dating agencies where you had to make a video describing yourself for potential dates to view. It doesn't sound all that different to what people are doing now, so I don't see what the problem is.

Does anyone remember Sunset Beach? It was an American soap opera in the late nineties that was massive in the UK. we were addicted to it. But anyway two of the main characters Meg and Ben actually met online and none of the viewers thought that was strange. So I suppose that online dating has been going a lot further back than any of us remember. Though I would say it started to take off more early part of the new millennium.

I don't know of anyone from my age group (early 30s) who hasn't tried online sites and apps and I'm no different. For us it's very much our thing. In the early days of online dating, we were just kids but the adults around us thought it was the dumbest thing they'd ever heard. Their main concerns were that it was only used by psychos, and people who wanted a quick bit of slap and tickle! Of course that's just ridiculous. You can meet a psychopath just about anywhere. And as for a quick hook up, please! You could easily get one of those in virtually any club or pub. The way, I see it, online dating is just another way of meeting people that is no better or worse than any other way.

I didn't meet my American husband online funnily enough. I met him while he was working in England but I like knowing that even if he hadn't been that I might still have met him anyway as that's the great thing about online dating. It might connect you with someone down the road from you or on the other side of the world. There really is no limit and that's one of the advantages.

I did try online dating not long after moving to Australia but my reasons were more about getting out of the house, meeting people and pushing myself out of my comfort zone than looking for love. I had too much going on at the time to even think about a relationship. If it happened, and I didn't really expect it to, then great, but that wasn't my priority back then. I'm married now so I have no use for online dating now.

It was around twenty years ago or so that people started getting into online dating. It was funny because there were all these sites like Match or Plenty of Fish and we knew people were using them but so many people would deny meeting their significant other on there. LOL. It was only because of the cagey way they spoke about how they met that you kind of suspected how they got to meet. LOL!

I was already engaged when people were starting to get more and more involved with online dating. Although we ended up splitting up, I still never into the online dating immediately not because I thought there was something wrong with it, I didn't, but during the times I was single I was busy with my career, travelling, socializing, and just generally enjoying life, so when I met people that was usually how it happened. In fact it was while I was travelling that I met the man I did go on to marry and the father of my children. Unfortunately that marriage didn't last but I just got on with raising my kids. I have dabbled in online dating and I've got a couple of profiles out there but I lead such a busy life that I just get on with that and meeting someone isn't such a priority right now.

I got married for the first time when I was approaching my mid forties. I had relationships before I got married of course, and yes I did indeed meet people over the world wide web. It's funny because over the last 15-20 years people WERE going online to look for love but most of us kept quiet about it. I like that for the new generation, there's nothing weird about using apps and stuff. In fact for most young people today, going online will be pretty much what they've known their entire dating lives.

But that said no one should feel that they have to go online if they don't feel it's for them. And neither should people feel shamed for going online. The world has come a long way and it's like Jodi said, online dating has completely revolutionized the way people date. Now you can meet someone who lives on the other side of the world and get to know them before eventually meeting them in person. That wasn't something that often happened say thirty, forty years ago.

I'm 44 and have never been married although I have been in a few relationships or have casually dated in the hope of creating a relationship but for one reason or another, it didn't happen. I've met people in a variety of ways including the more 'traditional' methods i.e. - work, through friends, on nights out etc. And yes I have also given online dating a go as well. I've seen some of the comments here that have said that online dating was something that was very hush hush back in the day, and I personally believe that to be true. At least for my generation. It was seen as something that desperate people did in a bid to find love and was even compared to shopping for a used car which is very unfair and narrowminded.

I've met some great guys online. I've also met people who it didn't lead to love with but we have stayed friends. And yes, there have been a lot of flakes but thankfully no out and out weirdos!

To forty-somethings like myself who are still single it's not really a tragedy as we do live very fulfilling lives and it's not like how it was in our parents day, where you had to be married with kids by a certain age. But that said I am of course open to meeting someone and I don't limit myself to one particular method so I do still go online. And I'm glad that it no longer has the stigma that it once had.

I came across this BBC video clip last night. Here we are shocked that online dating went back to the nineties but it looks as though the party was getting started in the 1960s. Wow! 😲It was a very fascinating insight into how people were approaching computer (rather than online!) dating and I see similarities with today's online dating.

I must be the only person in the world who has NEVER met anyone online. It's true! I am now 37 and I have been with my boyfriend for a very long time - since I was in my early twenties. So for me there was never any need to go on a dating site or anything. I don't think it's something I would of wanted to do anyway but it was a different time back then and people did have doubts about going online to meet someone. It's very different now of course and who isn't on a site or an app or something.

I have previously dipped my toe in the waters of online dating but I didn't stay long there! I met my husband when I was 28 (through work) and we got married four years later and started a family. So I've never had to do much of the online thing. When I was dating, I suppose it was starting to become widely accepted a lot like it is now. Back then I'm not sure that I really thought it was for me but I think that if I was still single today, I would definitely go online as so many people I know are doing that now and it seems to be the most popular method for meeting people. But if I'm honest, I thought it was just a fad and no way did I think it would become what it is today so it is amazing. But that said, I don't think it'll be an ongoing thing. Why not? Because the next big thing is probably around the corner ready to take over. We've had lonely hearts columns, lock and key parties, singles events, speed dating which everyone seemed to be doing at one time. Once the new way of meeting people comes along, I don't think online dating will be much of a thing anymore.

I have given online dating a go in the past. Around the early 2000s. People didn't really discuss this kind of stuff openly and honestly as a few people have said already, so if you did meet someone online, you wouldn't tell too many people about it. A real contrast to now that's for sure!

For many years I worked in the entertainment and nightlife industry and I got to meet a lot of guys that way so I didn't really need to go online. Although I have done and have had no issues with that. To be honest there was also a stigma attached to meeting someone in a bar or a club - it was considered an easy hook up alot like Tinder is today. So really what's the difference? However you meet someone, there will always be someone who criticizes, so just choose the method that works best for you. I'm currently single right now but meeting someone isn't high on my to-do list right now, but when I'm ready maybe I will go online.

And as for people online being shady - come on! You can get people like that everywhere. You just have to be sensable and practical. It's not hard and don't let your heart rule your head.

I was always quite reserved and not the most outgoing of people so it's a miracle I got married as young as I did (at 24!) But that was all thanks to the internet. Being so shy and anxious as I was, I tended to make lots of friends via penpals and fanzines. Then the internet took off and along came those chatrooms that so many of us were addicted to. At college I swear we spent more time in chartrooms than actually doing any real work! And of course as well as making friends I got talking to fellas and actually ended up going out on dates. That's the good thing about the internet - you can get to know people at your own pace which is good for those of us who are more introverted. I think if I had met someone in a club the way a lot of my friends were doing, conversation would have dried up very quickly!

I met my now husband online in 2000 and we were married in 2002, and we now have two lads. You do hear all kinds of stories about online dating going wrong but you have to remember it's the extreme situations that end up on the news. I met blokes who it didn't work out with but no major disasters and none among any of my friends who are now using dating sites as well. It was once considered an embarrassment to have to go online to meet someone but thank goodness those days are over. I never felt embarrassed about it at all which was a good thing or I wouldn't have the life I have now.

That was a really interesting post, Jodi - thank you! I myself didn't know that people were meeting over the internet as far back as then. I know it really kicked off in the early part of the noughties. But back then it was considered a bit taboo. Even if people did meet online, they would never openly admit to it except maybe to their closest friends. It really was regarded as a bit sad and desperate (not my words!) So I'm amazed at how it's now taken the world by storm. Now people are very open about how they've met their partners and talk about who it is they're talking to online, what sites and apps they're using etc. It is good because there shouldn't be any shame attached to how you meet someone. After all people have been using personal columns, matchmaking services and dating agencies long before online dating really kicked off.

While I know that online dating can be a success, and I know lots of people who have got their happy ever after that way, I did try it more than fifteen years ago or so and it just wasn't for me. When I started dating online, it was back in the days when there was something of a stigma attached and I didn't want to meet someone I liked online but then not be open and truthful about how I met them. But the real truth of it was that I just didn't really hit it off with anyone that I met. For me it was like looking for a needle in a haystack and it just didn't happen. But I'm glad that there were no horror stories. A lot of time wasters but that's about it.

My husband had also tried internet dating (obviously before we got together!) But he found it wasn't for him either. Each tot their own and all that, I guess. I think internet dating is like Marmite - you'll either love it or hate it. There's a lot about modern day dating - whether it's online or not - that I don't understand. The rules, the etiquette... everything has changed in a relatively short space of time. But if anyone really wants to go for it, I say give online dating a try. At the very least it'll be an experience - and hopefully a good one!

That's interesting. I'm 61 and have been a 'widower' since 1993, aged 32, and apart from one brief relationship in 1996/97, I have struggled to meet anyone, to be honest. The fact I had to bring up (with a lot of help from others) three daughters, who are now themselves in their 30s, hasn't really helped. It all changes after about 35. There simply aren't the unattached and single people around anymore, most have settled down with someone by then.

But in the last year, I have thought of trying online dating, because it seems to be the only way. I can't, for the life of me, think how I can possibly meet anyone using the so-called traditional methods. The big problem (for me) is the lack of trust for any kind of online dating, or the internet in general. You never know what kind of person you will end up meeting. I've asked friends and friend's wives if they know anyone, something that used to be quite good (about 40 years ago) but that's now a dead-end.