#1
Technology only makes it seem like it’s a lot easier to meet the love of your life. If you’ve ever eaten at The Cheesecake Factory, one of the first things you probably noticed is that they present you with an insanely long menu. It seriously looks like a short fiction novel. You flip through page after page scrutinising every item for fear that you might miss out on a great dish… or dare I say it, the (elusive) perfect dish. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the choices and sometimes I get put off just looking at the sheer number of items on the menu. Herein lies the paradox of choice. There are so many shiny dating profiles online that you can never decide who is good enough and who is worth sending a message to.

#2
Sometimes, you’re someone’s rebound and you don’t always know it until you do. And that’s okay because it’s always good to donate your time to charity.

#3
You can’t quite experience firsthand, someone’s reeking body odour through an app. Don’t wait too long to meet someone whom you’ve been chatting with. You can try and suss all you want but there is a limit to how much you can learn about someone without actually meeting them.

#4
No one owes you anything. You might be having the best exchanges via text and you may have even had a couple of sensational dates that ended with a kiss that made you weak in the knees. And just as you plan your next date, you stop hearing from them. You’re not quite sure what happened and it bothers you immensely. You can fret over it and check your phone every five minutes but you may never hear from them again. You take a deep breath and move on because sometimes the world is your (unresponsive) oyster.

#5
First dates at your favourite hangout are a BAD idea. I repeat, a bad idea. That cocktail bar and/or hole-in-the-wall restaurant you love oh so much should be kept all to yourself. Unless of course, you enjoy bumping into your dates at a later time while they’re on a date with someone else. Hey fucknugget, isn’t that the cocktail I recommended?

#6
With the treasure trove of information available online, it’s so tempting to google your matches before you meet them, you know, just to find out their career aspirations on their Linkedin profile or check out what was the last thing they retweeted or maybe even to see if they might be a sketchy character with a drinking and streaking problem on Facebook. Digital diligence might seem like a good idea especially since we’re all busy and don’t want to waste our time on someone who might potentially be a scam artist or a misogynist (I don’t know which is worse, frankly). But really, all stalking does is allow you to get judgy and dismiss them quickly. There are no shortcuts to dating. We have to invest the time and energy it takes to find love. I always give them benefit of the doubt and save my judgment until I meet them in person. And boy do I judge them hard.

#7
You might not meet the love of your life but you sure as hell meet some interesting characters. Some of the coolest people I’ve met in the last couple of years, I’ve met through OkCupid and Tinder. They make for good dinner party stories and the exceptional ones end up in your social circle becoming dinner party guests. Whoever said you couldn’t forge new friendships through dating sites? Joke’s on you, kid!

#8
Nerves aside, you can tell so much about someone from just the first date. Everything from how they treat the wait staff at the restaurant/bar to their body language and the stories they tell. I’ve found that I’m least attracted to men who whinge and whine about everything. You’re on a date, dude and I ain’t your shrink. And I’m most attracted to men who make me laugh, at their expense… and if they play their cards right, at my own expense too.

#9
Chivalry Good grammar isn’t dead. Never trust a man who texts you more emojis than he does actual sentences.

#10
It’s 2016. While the dating playground continues to be a rocky terrain, you can afford to take some chances without crumbling. Don’t wait to be asked out. Sweep that pride of yours under the rug and make the first move.