You may ask yourself, “How was it so easy for my parents and grandparents to meet and feel such a connection that they ended up married when I can’t even find a date I like?”

Are you doing something wrong? A more likely answer is that times have changed, while people’s expectations of dating haven’t. Perhaps you give yourself a hard time for not having found that instant connection, but consider a few things before you beat yourself up.

The world has changed in so many ways since our grandparents were on the prowl. For better or worse, we’re a more confidential society, keeping our joys and our sorrows close to home. American society is intensely private and we don’t mix as easily as past generations might have. We don’t talk to people in line at the grocery store or post office; neither do we know our neighbors the way we should. Meeting people has become harder now that we live more concealed lives.

Does this mean we’re all forced into cold, lonely existences? Of course not. It simply means that what worked before doesn’t work as well anymore, and that new methods are needed if we’re to find the love that we truly deserve. Holding out in a dating situation when it’s just not working for you would be the real tragedy.

The news is out: despite other methods, online dating just makes sense in this day and age. Single men and women must put themselves into the most receptive dating field they can find. For some, that would be the traditional bar scene, where singles meet and mingle and hope to find “The One”. Other singles who have been set up on dates by family and friends, have emerged with mixed results.

Have any of these methods worked for you in the long term? If you can handle a tough question, ask yourself why, if all of these ways of meeting dates are so easy, are you still single?

How would you like to meet a date who embodies many of the qualities that you hold important? This person is looking for the same type of relationship as you, and is attractive and fun to be around. I’m not speaking of any person in particular, but by the sheer numbers of online dating profiles you are sure to find someone who meets those requirements.

It’s unfortunate that one of the most successful ways of meeting is also one of the most ridiculed. Online dating has been the butt of countless jokes, but no one can deny its runaway success. With thousands of people per year meeting casual dates and even marriage partners online, the joke hardly applies anymore.

Some singles are reluctant for a variety of reasons; they fear that online dating is a last resort, or of what their friends might say. But all of these fears can be put to rest when they consider that there are thousands of eligible singles online at any given time. These profiles are of well-employed, normal people, not rejects of society.

Browse through any typical dating site’s roster of profiles and you’re likely to see dozens of attractive, accomplished single adults. Once you’ve really considered what these potential dates have to offer, you’ll feel silly for not having considered it earlier.