Previously, many people use to date through traditional means and we call it as traditional dating. If we look back, not much time ago in 1995 the most popular way to date included techniques like blind dates, setups, through friends and colleagues and last but not the least, to hop around in the bars and pubs.

Things changed so quickly that by 2000, online dating was booming into people's lifestyle. Still not many had access to the Internet and were stranded away from using this technique. Today, online dating is a $300 million dollar industry that is growing briskly all over the globe.

Even though it is an explosive industry still people may think that why should we say good bye to our traditional way of dating. While it is advisable to have a decent combination of both online and offline tactics, here are some advantages of online dating.

You can save a lot of time : - Let's say you were looking for a date and for that you have 8 options. In a traditional approach it would be like having to meet all 8 for a coffee, lunch or may be dinner. There is a very strong chance that 4 out of those 8 had no potential for second date. But in online dating you can go through as many profiles you want, check their pictures, select few and then you can even converse before actually deciding to date.

Be more specific in your search : - You might have a preset mind about the religion, race, and ethnicity of the partner you want, which becomes difficult to specify to friends and family who are trying to fix you up. This problem is sorted out in the online world, where there are different sites that would specialize in the type of mates you are trying to seek.

Expand your search : - Since Internet has no global boundaries, it is very likely that you may find your match in a different city, state or may be from a different country. Also, you can even communicate and know each other before deciding to actually meet. In a traditional approach it doesn't sound very realistic and to a certain extent is not possible.

Convenience in dating : - Internet is always present 24 hrs a day and 7 days a week so you can keep your search on any time you want be it day time or late in the night. If you are tired coming from the office you can always login tomorrow and start your search again, whereas in traditional approach you have to be ready to date on normal times even if you are tired.

Save Money : - People think that an approximate cost of about $200 is high for an annual subscription but if you calculate the amount you spend on a normal date on drinks and other stuff you will realize how inexpensive online dating can be.