My best friend just ended a long-term relationship and she found herself lost in a world of loneliness and helplessness. She asked me what is the fastest and easiest way to get back in the game and I suggested online dating.

She took my advice and had fun on her first date. As a reserved Chinese girl, she had never thought of dating online until I reminded her.

Last month, China’s biggest online dating site Jiayuan got listed on NASDAQ and it has over 40 million registered members. Earlier this year, I talked with the founder of another influential dating site and he told me there are 50 big online dating sites in China. He also said, “All the hesitations and reservations against online dating have faded away. Most people have accepted online dating as one of the most convenient ways of dating and have started using it extensively.”

However, as far as I am concerned, still a large number of people, including a lot of young people don’t trust online dating. When it comes to dating sites, they think they will only meet bad people and losers who can’t find a partner in real life on the internet. Even though they met their partnersonline, they deny it and make up another story of how they met.

I was talking about this with an American friend and he gave me a weird smile when sharing with me his date with a girl he met online. He just couldn’t believe he could find such a nice girl on the dating site.

Their concerns are understandable. Online dating is not perfect just like the traditional way. There are disadvantages to it that we should take into consideration before making the jump. Some people might just lie or exaggerate about themselves online and have profiles in more than one site, this means they’re getting responses from all over the place and from many different groups and types of people. We absolutely must have safety precautions in place before giving the person the phone number or meet them for a date.

Despite the disadvantages, I personally think dating while using one of the many online dating services is a great way to find that someone special. Being able to take the time to get to know someone through emails, chatting online and ultimately meeting is what these services provide. What makes them unique and different from meeting someone at a café or the gym? We can check out people and find those qualities we are looking for before meeting face to face.

One of the reasons I like about dating sites is that it can maximize my time. All I need to do is to view people’s profiles and see if we have things in common. If we still like each other after a couple of emails and phone calls, we are ready to go.

A more important factor is that dating sites can help me expend my network and circles of friends. Just think about it: I spend eight hours a day working with a married man at the office from Monday to Friday and at the weekends occasionally. How many chances do I get to know single guys? I can’t just sit there and waiting for them to knock my door. Getting online seems the best way.

With a little caution and attention to details, online dating can lead to many wonderful stories in the dating world. People all over the world are finding their matches online and are having great success every day. It is not impossible to find the person of our dreams, we just have to keep our eyes wide open and avoid the potholes along the way to true love.