Click Here for the Post Online dating is basically the best thing that ever happened to introverts.
You can now scan for a potential partner without ever leaving the comfort zone that is your sofa. Of course, eventually you’ll need to get up and actually go on a date. But until then, scroll away my friend. After all, there are millions of people all around the planet who are now realising the strengths that introverts bring to the table.
You can even say we’re living through a worldwide Introvert Revolution. Just look at the success of self-proclaimed introvert Susan Cain’s wildly popular book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Her book has sold millions of copies worldwide, a TEDtalk she gave on the topic has been viewed over 20 million times, and she reportedly gets paid five-figures for a single appearance.
While there’s some overlap between being shy and being an introvert, Cain spelled out the difference during her 2012 interview in TIME, saying that, “shyness is fear of social judgment and humiliation, and introversion is really preference for less stimulation.”
If you’ve ever stopped to think about it, some of the most powerful people in the world are introverts, like Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama. Introverts are taking over and people are noticing — including those who run dating websites.
So if the idea of socialising in a noisy bar or trying to make conversation in large groups is your personal idea of hell, there are dating services out there that cater to your specific needs. Have a hard time coming up with what words to say to someone you’re into? There’s an app for that. Prefer to make meaningful connections? We found the perfect website for that too.
To help you heighten your odds of finding the person to match your awesomeness, we rounded up five of the best dating sites for introverts just like you.
Focused online dating experience • Has a reputation for having users that are serious about finding someone special
Expensive • No searching • Sign up can be long and tedious
It has a great success rate with pairing singles together to become long-term and committed couples — not to mention thousands of marriages
Great success rate with many long-term and committed couples — not to mention thousands of marriages.
- Free version: Yes
- One month: £44.95/month
- Three months: £21.95/month
- Six months: £18.95/months
- One year: £9.95/month
How it works: eharmony uses a compatibility matching system that pairs relationship hopefuls based on 29 different dimensions of compatibility. To get started, just fill out the Relationship Questionnaire, and once you’re confirmed as legit, the website will start sending you your compatible matches. It seems to work because eharmony has impressive success rates.
How it helps introverts: eharmony has a feature called RelyID that helps verify the information provided by other members, like their name, city, and age. You know what that means? No catfishing. Also, your profile is only visible to the people who are a good match for you, so the experience can help to narrow your potentials down to only those who are actually a good fit. Those who have signed up to RelyID will have a badge on their profile, letting you know they are for real. Not everyone using the site will have verified their ID though.
There’s also Guided Communication, a four-step program of communication with your matches. Basically, its a series of questions that help to break the ice. If that doesn’t work, the site also offers free dating advice.
Comprehensive profiles • Users are working professionals • Verification and privacy are taken seriously
It might take a long time to complete questionnaire • No search feature • You need a premium account to get anything out of the dating site
This dating site is considered one of the best for singles with busy careers who also want a deep and long-lasting relationship
For people who have busy lives and careers, Elite Singles is the dating site for you because it’s aimed directly at successful professionals looking for other successful singles who are not often found on traditional dating sites.
- Free version: Yes
- Three months: £70.17/month
- Six months: £54.63/month
- One year: £39.01/month
How it works: In order to find like-minded matches, Elite Singles has you take an in-depth personality test. The test will evaluate you on your level of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Based on the results, the smart profiling can send you three to seven compatible matches every day.
How it helps introverts: Since the personality test can identify the traits that really make you who you are, the dating service can match you with exactly the type of personality you’d be most compatible with.
It’s the first online dating site • Users are mostly serious about finding long-term relationships
The verification waiting period is annoying • It might take a long time to complete questionnaire • Expensive
Match is the gold standard for online dating and meeting new people
Aimed at singles over 30 who are looking for serious relationships instead of something casual.
- Free version: Yes
- Three months: £21.08/month
- Six months: £18.74/month
- One year: £16.39/month
How it works: Match is pretty much an open dating service. There’s absolutely no limit to who you connect with, or how often. After you set your dating criteria, the site will display possible matches. You can tweak or fine-tune the results as you wish.
Features for introverts: Large crowds can be scary, but Match regularly hosts meet-up events where you can create genuine relationships over time. If you enjoy browsing anonymously, there’s a feature called Incognito Mode that allows you to view profiles without the other person knowing.
Over 25 million users • Very sex positive • LGBTQ friendly
Bad and outdated design • Expensive • The dating site looks like an ad for porn
Although the site has a lot of fake profiles, it’s one of the best dating sites if you’re looking for sex and hook-ups with individuals looking for the same thing
Adult Friend Finder is a dating site for people who are looking to get laid. The site doesn’t hide that fact with euphemisms, so all of its over 25 million users are very open to the fact that sex is the main reason why they are on the dating site.
- Free version: Yes
- One month of GOLD: £25.30/month
- Three months of GOLD: £16.85/month
- One year of GOLD: £11.37/month
How it works: After filling out a surprisingly in-depth questionnaire, which includes questions about your gender, sexual orientation, relationship status and who you’re looking to meet, users then go to the main page where they can search for people who are also looking for relationships or just casual sex.
Features for introverts: Since AFF has millions upon millions of users from around the world, there’s always a large group of people constantly using it 24 hours a day. No matter your kinks or sexual orientation and no matter the time of day or night, there’s someone on the dating site waiting for you to share your preferences, sexual desires, and maybe hook-up with you too. Adult Friend Finder is the dating site that never sleeps and allows you to really go for what you want.
Easy to meet someone like-minded • UK-centric • LGBTQ friendly
Expensive • Fewer members than sites like Match
A site that makes it easy to find someone who shares similar values to you
80% of Guardian Soulmates members are also Guardian readers, so if you fall into that category, the site makes it easy to find someone who shares similar values.
- One month: £32.00/month
- Three months: £21.33/month
- Six months: £16.00/month
How it works: If you believe the Guardians’ own reader profiles, this dating app should be full of “wealthy foodies who like to travel and invest”. Sounds pretty attractive to us. Guardian Soulmates might consist of a smaller pool than dating sites like Match or apps like Tinder, but if there’s any truth in the profiles, the matches you make should be interesting. Guardian Soulmates also includes a cool feature called ‘Find a soulmate’ that uses criteria that you select in the “who you’re looking for” page to give you a list of potential “soulmates”. For each individual criteria, you can set how important these aspects are to you, and if they are important to other site members, you will be matched up.
Features for introverts: You can search for matches using the “Find a soulmate” function, letting the site show you matches based on both your preferences and how well you fit the preferences of other users, so you can hopefully avoid unpleasant encounters with people that don’t compute with you.
This article originally appeared on Mashable.com
