Ghanaians Vs Online Dating By Sonny Yenibey Namouz
Not long ago when internet came to Ghana, it was limited to the elite. Barely a handful of people knew about it and could surf. The main use of the internet at the time for most of these Ghanaian folks was emailing and reading of news.
Now, every nook and cranny in Accra you find internet cafés and Ghanaians as young as 7 years surfing. It’s only amazing that you find children from a third world country surfing the internet for information and learning new things. Some of them even have email addresses and have made a lot of friends from other countries. By 2005, the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) system was popular amongst the youths of Ghana particularly those living in the capital city, Accra.
When the chatting system became another significant aspect of the internet for them, it was mostly limited to yahoo and MSN but now, you find downloads of numerous chat software on their computers.
Ghanaians became more and more interested in the internet when online dating hit the core of their hearts. Tens of hundreds of Ghanaians have found their dream partners online and are happily married. Some date online for fun, long term relationship and marriage purposes.
Initially some Ghanaians thought that, only women who were not getting attention from men would go on the internet, advertising themselves for attention and vice versa but the mentality has changed of late.
One major reason that can be attributed to the change in mentality is the exposure Ghanaians gained from foreign dating websites where you find responsible adults posting their ads to seek romantic relationships and the like. There has also been a growing number of whites seeking to marry Ghanaians or blacks on the whole.
The Ghanaian Internet Dating started with the concept of whites or singles living abroad seeking Ghanaians and that has been the trend until now. Internal online dating is very minimal. There are a few reasons for that; there hasn’t been any special website dedicated to Ghanaians which provides purely dating services in the past but thanks to Ghanasinglesnet.com, which has been described as the fastest growing Ghanaian Dating website and the nation’s number one. In the first two weeks of launching the beta stage of the website and with little or no advertisement, there were more than two hundred registered members, 75% resident Ghanaians, 20% non-resident Ghanaians and 5% other singles. The statistics tells of Ghanaians’ readiness to welcome the website which provides 100% free dating services for Ghanaians.
Online dating services in Ghana have also witnessed a few setbacks which I think are worth considering. The first and foremost is scam or scamming. Cases where men or women fake up their profiles for fraud purposes are very rampant.
Another setback is the method of payment for online dating services. Mostly the foreign websites accept credit cards and the like which are not common in Ghana. This is a hindrance because even if they join a pay dating website, they would not enjoy all the features of the website, in most cases you cannot initiate a contact or send a message at all. This is why the only online dating website dedicated to Ghanaians; ghanasinglesnet was made free for all.
When it started, Ghanaians in Diaspora and foreigners had immense confidence and trust in Ghanaians seeking a foreign partner but frequent and rampant fraudulent activities have deteriorated the trust.
The situation is even worse when men disguise themselves as women and use photos of models to defraud their victims.
The team behind the website said that, they will do anything technologically possible to get rid of such members on their website. Steps like this can help curb the menace and rebuild the trust foreigners
once had in Ghanaian singles.
However, the number of Ghanaians dating online is increasing every day in and day out. There are a lot of real Ghanaians who are seeking for love and do not disguise themselves. Internal online dating is growing as well and Ghanaians are getting to understand that; you may join a dating website for fun, friendship, long term relationships, casual dating and even marriage. Wherever you fit is a matter of choice.
Founder of Ghanasinglesnet.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Ghanaians-Vs-Online-Dating&id=773542
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4 comments:
Nice articles. Keep up the good work. =)
By the way, Have you heard about video dating. People around the world are crazy about it. If your curious and interested about it - take a look at: http://videodating.friendswinoline.info
for more details: http://friendswin.i.ph
regards,
geminicorp
The person you are chatting could be anything you can imagine .There are all sorts of online scammers. remember, you don't know them personally! Single mothers have become victims of pedophiles on the net who they meet online in the name of dating and end up messing their families.All this has been been heavily published and in the local and international dailies. Needless to say we have all heard of the rampant cases of date rapes and even kidnappings occurring when people meet strangers they thought they knew well from the internet. With people like this lurking everywhere on the internet, it is imperative that users be aware of measures to avert possible dangers. Some of these measures include:
1)Listen carefully to your instinct. if your your conscious is clear go on, otherwise stop and forget the whole issue.your instinct is always right you can not go wrong this way.
2) Take your time before giving your mobile no. and residential addresses.
3) Meet in public places,where you find so many people such that in case of anything you can control the situation or raise an alarm
4) Do not give your personal contact details e.g. telephone numbers (even cellphone numbers), addresses etc. With todays technology finding somebody through a phone number is a matter of only a few clicks over a period of several seconds.
5) Learn some self defense skills. You might be accosted physically and these will come in handy.
6) Do not talk about your kids online, post their pictures or divulge any information about them, say for example what school they attend and the likes.
7) When going out on a date for the with someone you met online, ensure that you meet in a public place at a "safe"
hour.
Francis K. Githinji Is A Dating And Relationships Expert. His Latest Project DATING SAFETY MEASURES Shows How The Power Of Online Dating Can Be Harnessed Internationally and With Great Success.
So many men approach me saying something like "I am interested!" But the look on their face shows otherwise... They do not get clear about what they want or do not. Its important to know what you really can not tolerate in a partner. You should Make a list of your "don't wants" and then cut it down to the 5-10 most important. I don't have a positive outlook on a date if that person is always looking at the floor, not at you when talking and there seems to be no joy for them in life... What happens to humor and that little smile that will say a lot to me about who you are? Humor and a smile also shows me that joy won't be a problem if involved in a relationship with me.
Francis K. Githinji Is A Dating And Relationships Expert. His Latest Project HOW TO SEDUCE A WOMAN Shows How The Power Of Online Dating Can Be Harnessed Internationally and With Great Success.
Good day everyone! I am glad to know that Ghanians are dating online and othwerwise. I am the author of a fiction work titled "BlAsian Exchanges, a novel" which recalls my attraction for Black women and Black culture throughout my life. Please read the latest blog entry at:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-z.CN8M0ieqsO3aU.mBWa7OLJ;_ylt=Au1XN.zU_pB94nJizmywJT2kAOJ3
. . .and do let me know what you think.
Take Care,
sAm
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