Whether it's our partner, a friend, or a relative, we should refrain from idealizing other human beings -- or it may come back to haunt us. Let's start with what "idealizing" means. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, to idealize is to "give an ideal form or value to." In other words, it's the tendency to attribute ideal characteristics to things or people. There are quite a number of situations we can think of in which people regard others as being more perfect than they are in actuality. I'm sure you know at least one person who has taken a stab at online dating (perhaps it was you). The longer two people carry on exchanging pictures and talking on the phone -- without actually meeting in person -- the greater the potential for idealization. Why? Since you've never interacted with the individual in person, all you have to go by is what you've seen on your screen or heard by phone. You are most likely clueless as t...

Though many people will claim that finding love online isn't all that different from meeting and connecting people the traditional way, I beg to differ. Before I hooked up with my now-wife, I met several girls online and then in person. Though all but one encounter led to nothing more than exchanging pleasantries over lunch, I made a few observations when comparing how the two approaches differ. For one, when meeting the old school way, people are usually drawn to one another by virtue of physical attraction. The get-to-know-you phase comes later. With online dating, it's the other way around. You get to know the person based on whatever is said in online or phone conversations, then you meet in person and determine if you're both physically attracted to one another. Provided that people are being truthful about themselves -- we've all heard horror stories of people who misrepresent themselves -- I think the online-then-offline option gives both parties the oppo...

Online dating has become the rage over the last 10 or so years. We've all seen commercials for sites like match.com and eharmony.com touting how they've helped countless people find true love. While many of these couples state that they didn't actually fall in love until meeting in person and going on a few dates (which makes sense), others assert that they knew they were in love after merely a few conversations via the web. Is this even plausible? My take on it is that you can't fall in love without actually seeing and interacting with someone in person first. If it feels like love following a conversation or two online, then you must be falling in love with the idea of being in love. We don't get a good sense of someone - their gestures, mannerisms, demeanor, and more - without seeing him face to face. How do you know the person you're talking to is really a blonde 38-year-old divorcee from New York? For all you know, it could really be a few teenagers...