From all of us here at At First Sight, we wish you all a very wonderful International Women’s Day. It is an important time of year, to recognise all that women do and contribute, to celebrate their empowerment and support, and to ask how we can make the world better for them. At First Sight’s founder, Georgina, has been celebrated for these reasons this Women’s Day in interviews. We believe that change starts with individuals, but businesses make a huge impact on the environment of women, which is why we’re asking how we can create a safer dating environment for women.
The Dating Climate
We all tend to lead very busy lives, which can put dating and finding a soulmate on the backburner. Dating apps have made dating easy, quick and accessible to all, even in a fast-paced environment. The problem is that they are not necessarily working as intended and many women have some concerns.
Women’s Concerns
Threads such as this one on Reddit allowed women to share their grievances and previous experiences with dating sites and heavily featured concerns such as the legitimacy of people’s intentions, people not being fully vetted and often either in a marriage or relationship already or not who they say they are. Other concerns include unwanted messages, unsolicited pictures and the prevalence of men who only want to talk or sext and refuse to meet face to face. How can we expect to form good strong connections this way?
Is Online Dating Safe?
The safety of online dating has also been an issue. As stated in a recent article by Psychology Today, common online dating issues such as lies, unsolicited requests and propositions, catfishing, scams and basing decisions on superficial things such as profile pictures and exaggerated biographies can cause lasting problems. Dating websites need to do better.
Problem-Solving
There are many ways dating sites can improve to solve the most common concerns surrounding dating sites:
- Profile approval processes to better vet candidates
- Membership limits such as subscriptions to ensure higher calibre of people and to deter spam and scam profiles
- Conversation limits to avoid spamming and increase mystery
- Matches that rely on relationship experts rather than superficial choices
- Formal introductions made safely by a member of the dating company to ensure safety and comfort
We don’t believe women should have to put their safety and wellbeing at risk in order to meet people, and that’s why we’re changing the dating scene for the better, making it safer and more likely to deliver long-lasting connections. Find out more here to see how to become part of the change!