Why on-line romances do not transfer to the real world

When you meet someone on-line, you are not meeting the actual person. Even if they are entirely honest about everything they say, you are still missing crucial information. Perhaps they are not revealing everything, and even if that is not the case, context is missing. You cannot see this person, smell their breath, hear the sound and tone of their voice or observe how they interact with others. As a result, you are missing a great deal of knowledge of this person.

 

So, if you try to transfer an on-line romance into the real world, there is a high probability of failure. There are two possible scenarios:

 

The person is physically located within a reasonable distance of you. In this case, you can arrange to meet for the first time in a quiet, public place and have a controlled conversation. If you both find the outcome of this pleasing, you can gradually add more depth to the relationship and have the same chance of success you would have with a casual acquaintance.

 

The person lives too far from you to make a commute on a regular basis. In this case, the actions of the previous scenario are harder to arrange and will naturally take longer to come to fruition. Even if the outcome is successful, you are now relegated to a long-distance relationship, which are generally doomed to failure from the outset. It is far easier to find a partner locally, even if you are not actively seeking such, random encounters will occur if that is what your heart desires.

 

These are just my views, of course, but they are echoed throughout the net:

 

https://www.longdistancediva.com/2009/02/04/expert-says-avoid-long-distance-relationships/

https://www.lovesciencemedia.com/love-science-media/long-distance-relationships-the-good-the-bad-the-frequent-fl.html