If “To Catch A Predator” hasn’t freaked you out enough and all the other news information specials about honest people getting duped on the online dating scene isn’t enough to push you away, there are numerous legitimate places you can go and a number of dating web sites out there that will be able to meet your needs.

The first thing that you should decide is what you’re looking to get out of the dating site scenario; friends, dating, serious relationship, marriage, or some other type of living situation. Once you’ve determined that, you can decide what type of site you’d like to view. There are numerous different varieties of dating sites and services depending on your desires.

Most dating sites are adult only. That is you need to prove or in some way indicate that you’re at least 18 or 21 years old. If you find you’re having trouble logging on to the dating sites because you’re below that age, fear not! There are a number of teen friendly sites available for you to have a look at.

What you might need to do in order to register with these online sites is you may need to present a credit card for verification. Read the fine print carefully! And be sure you’re not taken to a third party site as that’s practically the death knell for getting ripped off.

There are a number of top dating sites that are basically personal ads where you can add your picture and a blurb about yourself. Often these are the free dating sites we’re all always looking for.

Many of the other dating sites have information where you enter in all your personality specs and then you’re “matched” based on some arithmetical computation of ‘compatibility.’ I’m still suspicious about that, but there are a number of people who say this works in spite of that fact.

Totally free dating sites often are niche type sites including the ones where you’re matched based on specific national origin, religious faith, or other specific interest. Be wary though as the foreign bride services, while in premise appealing, can be the ones which incur the most expense and put you in the most compromising situation.

Online dating is the new thing in the world and is a natural extension of the Internets function as a huge classified ad service. If you’re looking for a companion, online dating is often a safe way to browse around and get an idea of what’s out there.