Those in the know solve your dating dilemmas while our army of singles keep you in the dating scene loop.

Do you dare to online date?

I know what you’re thinking. Should I or shouldn’t I? You’ve come this far but now you’re having second thoughts. You’re tempted but you’re also a little hesitant. That’s to be expected. Life’s big decisions shouldn’t be taken lightly. You weigh up the pros and the cons and canvass your mates for their opinions. You do a little hokey-pokey and put your left foot in but don’t quite get to the part where you shake it all about. Will you take the plunge and set up an online dating profile? Being single myself I am privy to your dilemma and so I give you the top five reasons to throw your hat into the ring.

5. You’re not meeting anyone of the opposite sex.

If you’re a lady and all of your friends are also ladies and when you go out you are surrounded by a bunch of ladies there is little chance you are going to meet a bloke any time soon. Same goes if you are a fella who hangs with only fellas. Worse still if you do so in pubs where televisions pump out non-stop sport. Let’s face it; chicks just don’t dig these joints. The stale beer stench should have clued you in to that. So jump online and open up a safe channel for the opposite sex to approach because really, no bloke is going to take on your posse of sheilas and no babe is going to brave the toothless dudes propped up at the bar of your local.

4. You think there’s a man drought.

For research purposes (so I kept telling myself) I took a moment to browse through a few Yahoo Dating profiles. The things I do for you dear reader. And what I found was men and plenty of them. Page after page of single blokes and a couple whose profile’s I found myself lingering on for a moment longer than I had intended. There are guys out there - I can assure you. They are single and they want to meet you. Maybe some want to meet you in a desperate ‘I have no friends and will stalk you until you go out with me’ way but it’s up to you to do the filtering.

3. What you want is rather specific.

The beauty of online dating is you can narrow the field down to the most specific of qualities. Let’s say, hypothetically speaking of course, I’m on the hunt for a Pisces that lives within ten kilometres, is taller than 178 centimetres, likes yoga, works in the media, speaks French and has a sarcastic sense of humour. I can search for that online and while it reduces the number of potential matches, if these things are really that important, then online is the place to be. Imagine meeting that criterion in a bar. It’s just not going to happen. That said, it pays to keep something of an open mind. For example I’m willing to let the whole speaking French thing go. The rest is non negotiable.

2. Location location location

Where else can you trawl for your match in your pj’s or sweaty workout gear after a session at the gym? The beauty of online dating is you get to do all of the vetting from the most comfortable place imaginable. It’s also a whole lot easier to turn down unwanted advances online than in the flesh and this is the only time I would ever recommend wearing Ugg boots in a dating situation. Come to think of it, this is the only time I’d recommend wearing Ugg boots full stop.

1. It actually works

You may recall my tale of a friend who recently tied the knot to the man she met online and she is far from alone. Online success stories abound. Sure, she lies and tells everyone they met under completely different circumstances but she’s a very attractive, very normal person and so is he. See, online dating isn’t just for freaks so what are you waiting for? Give it a shot and let me know how it pans out. Oh, and I’m serious about those Ugg boots.