The Insider Exclusive: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Cebu City Dating

The world’s current situation has made online dating more popular with people looking to make connections even from the safety of their homes. For inexperienced Cebuanos looking to try it out, online dating may seem impossible to find success in, given the countless articles depicting the horrors encountered on dating sites and applications dedicated to online dating in Cebu City.

Don’t let this scare you, though. Experiences in dating, good or bad, are unique to the people that create them. To lessen the chances of getting burned while using dating applications, we’ll need to first equip ourselves with ample knowledge of what we’re getting into before entering the scene.

So, without further ado, here is a primer for online dating in Cebu City. 

Eenie Meenie Miney Mo: Choosing the Right Dating Site

Before anything else, we should point out that you can find so many online dating sites and applications all over the internet. These sites and applications differ from one another through the features they have onboard, the operating system they’re available in, or the demographic they’re trying to cater to.

Taking the time to study the distinctions and figuring out the website that best suits our needs or budget is the first step to having an excellent time online dating in Cebu City.

Don’t know where to start?

Try looking at comments left on the site’s or application’s review page. Discussion boards are also excellent sources of information since user input can give us a clearer picture of the social landscapes we’re planning to enter; they can even affect our decision regarding the use of a specific application or site. 

Besides customer reviews, we should also take the time to look at the features onboard each site and application. These features either come for free or premium and will likely affect our entire journey. Plus, they can even dictate how we sign up for online dating sites and applications, create user profiles, or make our love matches.

Some features to look out for often have to do with communicating with and blocking other users. Depending on the app, there’s a possibility of facing restrictions on the number of users we match with or talk to daily. This may not seem so much of a hindrance, but we need to note if this can make or break our time on the site or app and if we’re actually ready to pay for an experience without such restrictions. 

Making the Best Profile

It’s safe to say that online dating isn’t an instantaneous, magical solution to finding love, what with the time it takes to find a proper Cebu City dating application or site. In fact, it typically takes as much time, maybe even longer, to find love through online dating as it does through traditional, in-person dating. Selecting our medium is only the first step to a very lengthy yet enjoyable process.

After that, we can sign up and create our profiles. Some dating applications and sites require users to answer questionnaires beforehand. The content of these questionnaires varies, but they have a commonality in that they mostly feature surface-level questions.

We’re likely to come across inquiries regarding the type of relationship we’re looking for, our career paths, passions, music tastes, favorites (from food to movie to games), and hobbies. Regardless of the questions, we need to stay as close to the truth as possible when answering so that the system can better match us with users with similar interests.

Read more: 6 Best Restaurants In Cebu for Dating

The reminder remains the same for those who are able to jump right into profile creation. Often, profiles come in two parts—the bio and the photo gallery. Honesty is a must for both, but that doesn’t mean we can’t shine a light on our best qualities, especially if they’re the ones that tend to draw attention. Want to push your humor to the forefront? Include a pun or a quip somewhere in that short bio section. Looking for a person as adventurous as you? Try uploading a photo of one of your fun activities.

Now that we’re on the subject of photos, let’s establish the qualities that each image should possess before uploading them to our profile gallery. Maintaining these qualities can better our chances of making high-quality matches on our chosen sites and applications. 

1. Unedited

First and foremost, any photo that goes on our profile gallery should have little to no edits. Altering our images through feature changes, skin tone lightening, or a filter can distort the image that other people have of us. It can also cause damage in the future should we opt for a voice call or meet in real life. 

2. Clear

Aside from being unedited, each photo should be of high definition as well. The lack of face to face interaction means that other users rely heavily on the photos we share, so blurry or dark photos may negatively impact how they perceive us. 

3. Unique

Oftentimes, dating sites and applications allow users to upload more than one photo. We should take advantage of this freedom by showcasing our different sides through the photographs. Some veteran daters advise including a closeup, a full body shot, and a passion shot (either showcasing ourselves during travel or doing hobbies). 

4. Solo

We should use photos that feature no other person as much as possible. This way, all the focus is on us. If it can’t be helped, we should at least note somewhere on our profile which one is us.

Upon settling these matters, we can then move on to the most exciting part of this entire journey: Using the site to meet and connect with new people.

8 Characters You’ll Definitely Meet While Dating Online In Cebu

The Cebu City dating scene introduces us to colorful character types that bring unique experiences to the table, either good, bad, or unforgettable. In online dating, some personalities are more distinct than the rest. Let’s check out how they stand out, and what we should look out for. 

1. The Narcissus

These users are usually more preoccupied with the attention they’re getting to pursue any matches. They may have joined dating apps or sites intending to find a partner, but have been derailed with contacting as many users as they can to feel admiration from others.

2. The Sad Blues

Otherwise known as the Depressives, these users are some to be wary of considering that their baggage from life experiences, usually from previous relationships, may affect how they view the people they match with. Having permanent clouds raining over you can blind you from seeing the good in people, after all.

3. The Bedroom Romantics

When online dating in Cebu City, or anywhere in the world for that matter, it’s inevitable that we’ll run into the bedroom romantics. These users are essentially the “no strings attached” players out to collect more notches on their bedpost. They prioritize physical attraction and are likely to bail after getting it. 

4. The Catfish

The internet gives people too much power, evident in how easy it is to fluff up one’s person to trick others into liking you. People who do such a thing are called catfishers, and their catfishing has various degrees of gravity. Some heavily edit their photos and omit or add outrageous details to their life stories. Others take another person’s image and create a new persona entirely. It isn’t easy to forge authentic relationships with them, considering the lies told even before a connection has been made. 

5. The Flaker

Often associated with the Catfisher, Flakers actively pursue others on online dating apps and sites, but won’t push through with any plans to meet people beyond a computer screen. The reason they give may vary, but often they do so in fear of getting caught in a lie or disinterest in establishing an offline relationship. 

6. The Scammer

This here is the worst encounter of the bunch. They enter dating circles with malicious intentions, most of which have to do with taking money from kind-hearted individuals. 

7. The Dreamer

While not as troublesome as others, Dreamers may be difficult to handle for people who like taking things slow. This is because Dreamers focus on their goal: the most coveted Happy Ever After, which usually consists of a long term partner, marriage, and kids. Some even go so far as to interrogate their matches and instantly leave when said goals don’t align with the other person’s. 

8. The Survivor

The kind of online dater we should strive to be. Survivors take their time understanding how online dating in Cebu City works. They carefully craft their profiles to showcase their best selves while remaining truthful. Later on, they do the same with conversation starters, recognizing that each match made differs from the last, which means studying the person’s profile and forming an introduction best suited for the person.

Survivors take things slow, all the while keeping a wary eye open to spot ingenuine individuals. While acknowledging the dangers of the web, they don’t discriminate against other users.

By keeping in mind the qualities that make one a survivor, we can undoubtedly make our online dating experience better. Keeping grounded and informed while enjoying our time meeting new people helps ensure that we stay safe and secure while on the quest for love.