If you’ve just come out of a long-term relationship and have no experience with modern dating, it can be incredibly intimidating. Online dating is so ubiquitous these days. There are so many apps and sites available that even knowing where to start can be very difficult. Things get even more complicated if you have children and are now not only single but a single parent.
Ask around.
A good place to start is by asking single friends. Anecdotes are generally more reliable than Google, and different sites and apps are used differently by people in different locations. Your friends will have great insider knowledge that can get you off to a good start. Your friends will also have good knowledge of what type of men you might find on different sites. Check out a few that they recommend, and narrow down your options based on which site has the most men you’re interested in.
Don’t give up.
If it takes a while to get into your groove with online dating, don’t give up. Just because you don’t find your next long-term partner right away, that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. Try and enjoy the process as much as you can, and the right person will come along eventually. You just need to keep at it and keep an open mind.
The best dating sites for singles with children
If you’re looking for another long-term relationship, eHarmony is a great option as people have been finding lasting love through the site for more than two decades. Created by a psychologist who built an algorithm for ‘true compatibility,’ this isn’t a site for casual flings. The long list of questions you’re asked to answer on sign-up can take a while to complete, but the more you answer, the stronger the match.
Zoosk is the highest-grossing dating app in the United States and has 35 million users worldwide. The app uses information from your social media accounts to help match you with people, so there’s less question-and-answering. This has both free and premium membership options, so it’s a great choice for newer online daters.
Match.com is one of the oldest and biggest dating sites in the world. While its interface is a little lacking in pizzazz these days, it’s very much a case of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s also really easy to create your profile, and reasonably cheap compared to some others. Match.com is also aimed at people who are looking for long-term relationships, so it’s definitely one for serious shoppers.
Tinder may have started out as an app for hook-ups and hook-ups only, and it still is great if that’s what you’re looking for. But then, there are tons of people who have found lasting love through Tinder. Tinder dates are even turning into marriages! It’s a simple concept (swipe right if you’re interested, left if you’re not) and is great because both potential partners have to show interest before anyone can send a message. There isn’t space for a whole lot of information on your profile, but you can add links to your Instagram and Spotify accounts if you’d like to give more of a flavor of who you are.
