Melissa Rigon
Life Editor

When you’re sitting behind a computer screen, chatting with someone else on the other end, and they compliment your dating profile picture, it’s easy to feel sexy.
Those who have trouble meeting people to date on a daily basis find it easier to have more confidence through online dating, regardless of any dangers that exist.
Online dating should be encouraged to those who cannot build up the confidence to approach a man or a woman at the local bar or at the gym.
It gives them an alternative to talk to people without feeling insecure.
All of us have different degrees of confidence in relationships. The average person may not have all the answers as to what will build confidence, but whether we want to admit this to ourselves or not, a big confidence boost involves connecting with someone who makes you feel good about yourself. For examle, if someone compliments your smile, it’s an instant ego boost.
So, you plan out a night of fun, looking forward to meeting some new people at a local club.
The club starts to heat up around 10:30 p.m. and you can’t even move without a drink spilling on you, or you get approached by drunken girls or guys, and for the next five hours, you may have met one or two people but you know you won’t ever speak to them again.
So tell me, why put in all that effort when you could have really gotten to know someone chatting online for five hours, and perhaps investing time into something worthwhile?
According to Online Dating Magazine, more than 120,000 American marriages a year occur as a result of online dating. Four million people in Canada and 40 million Americans use online dating sites to find matches.
Although people may constantly read about the disadvantages of online dating, and how people are getting raped and killed by meeting people through these sites, they tend to forget or turn a blind eye to the long term couples who are happily married and have had a successful turn out.
So, why is it that we focus on the negative? It’s not right and society needs to stop enhancing the negativity and allow things to pan out naturally in relationships.
We shouldn’t be setting guidelines or rules on something that is caused by fate or a simple connection.
What about getting to know someone’s personality before you judge them based on if they spit while they talk, or if they have a lazy eye? If talking to someone innocently over a computer helps others see what you see in yourself, then get in there and start chatting.
Some could say it’s superficial for someone to call you good looking before they even take the time to know you, but is it so wrong to take a compliment?
Many may argue that teens are not smart enough when it comes to online dating, but it’s all about how well you know someone before that first date. Do you meet up an hour after chatting?  Or do you talk to them over the phone for a few days?
Lindsay Hoxey, a third-year Humber interior design student, met her boyfriend online and said she wouldn’t change it for anything.
“You just know when you connect with someone,” she said. “Even though the other person can’t see you smiling on the other end when you’re talking, you definitely feel it.”
Many teens and even adults are discouraged about finding the right person because there are limitations with meeting people in more traditional ways.
The Singles Dating Network said it’s hard to find a partner in the workplace because of harassment, so the question I ask is why not date online?
Sure, out of thousands of profiles,  there may not be many matches for you, but one person could possibly end your search.