I answer this as a senior senior citizen. I lost my wife after 52 years of marriage. This loss causes intense loneliness. As I wrote in a book I Co-authored on using dating sites, “The issue with loneliness is that it can be felt as a fleeting desire for companionship as well as a strong driving need for a relationship. The latter can and will put you into a situation that can end in disappointment. If you have decided you have been alone too long, then you can either hug your cat, or get a grip and move on.

Let me digress for a moment. Believe us when we say loneliness is a powerful driver. After months or years of having some one in your life is, for want of a better term, addicting. Both of us felt this loneliness acutely and in truth is a reason why we made mistakes.”

The way to protect themselves is move slowly and make Due Diligence your best friend.

As we wrote ask your self at least these questions:

Am I really finished grieving my loss? This loss can either be a result of death or divorce.

Am I really looking for a lasting relationship or do I just want sex?

Am I being careful and self protective?

Do I understand that the relationship I seek is something I want-not need?

Am I ready to risk?

Obviously there is a lot more to answering your question but this is a start.

I either get very young men who only want sex, and think it is easy to get from an older widow…most of these men are very very cute and I couldn’t have had them if I were their age…or, I get lots and lots of scams…guys or gangs who want to extort every last penny from me. They don’t need to score a lot, because they are talking to many women my age and if everyone gives them even a little, they will score a lot.

There are a few widowers on there who are naive and still in love with their wives, and don’t really want a relationship anyway, so I don’t even know why they are on there…just lonely I guess. I find them rude, wanting me to fill in for their wives in every way but the real way. They want companionship and sex with no strings attached. Sorry, but if that’s what I wanted, I’d rather go back to the thirty-somethings again. At least the sex would be good. If he’s not offering a full relationship, I’d rather have a shallow one with a young man, than a real one with a widower my age….late sixties/early seventies. They only want a nurse or a purse anyway.

Beware, scammers like to hang out on dating sites. They will have a dating profile that tells you they are someone they are not, including a fake profile pic. Be especially wary if the pic is of an very attractive person who doesn’t seem to fit the profile age. Since age is one of the pieces of profile information you are typically asked to include in your application to the site, a scammer can easily pick out prime looking targets. So some advice if you are a senior and are using dating sites (nothing wrong with keeping the blood moving seniors):

1. Keep your profile information to the bare minimum. You can always add if you don’t get many likes.
2. Don’t communicate with them outside of the site message services until you feel very comfortable with the person you have been matched with. Ask for and verify their out of site connection numbers before supplying your own,
3. Avoid anyone who may say they are serving in the military based overseas. This is probably a big lie and these are your famous “romance scammers” often.
4. When you do make off site connections and feel comfortable enough to meet that person, do so ASAP (hey you’re a senior and the clock is running down).

Most people on these senior dating site are genuine, some a little too genuine (if you get my drift). Be wise, be aware, have fun, and be safe!

For one thing, by being realistic. If you are an out of shape 60-something, 23 year old models are not interested in you. If you are attracting interest from people who look remarkably good, but who live in a different country or a diferent continent, it’s unlikely to be a genuine date.

Luckily, it’spretty easy to weed out the scammers, they actually deliberately make it easy by using dodgy English and illogical stories. “Am an honest man looking for the love of my life. Am an IT consultant but don’t understand Tinder, can we talk on Facebook/email?”

Ask questions. If they say they are local to you, ask something that requires local knowledge.

I find starting a conversation with “What’s the craic?” immediately weeds out all the non Irish.

Arrange to meet as soon as possible. Coffee or a drink in a local cafe or bar is best. Scammers won’t turn up. They will have a sob story about having to rush to a dying relative in hospital and worry about the hospital bill. Yes, they’ll say this even if they are claiming to be in Dublin or London.

I'm not a senior woman myself, but someone close to me who lost her partner 3 years ago has been trying senior dating sites. She often says she doesn't want to date again, but sometimes feels lonely, so she registered an account on SeniorMatch. The other day, she mentioned meeting a man who seemed healthy and had a great sense of humor. She said she wanted to keep talking to him and see where it goes.

I think it can be challenging for older people to find a new partner, but I'm truly happy for her and wish her the best. After all, no one wants to spend the rest of their life alone. It's heartwarming to see her taking steps to find companionship. While the process might not be easy, it's inspiring to see her open herself up to new possibilities. I hope she finds the connection she's looking for, whether it's a deep friendship or a romantic relationship. Everyone deserves a chance at happiness, regardless of age.

Same as anyone of any age: be very, very careful!!

Only go on a (so-called) reputable site;

Never give out your home details - would suggest you get a pay-as-you-go mobile phone that you use only for people you have met through the site - that way, if it doesn’t work out, they don’t have your own phone details.

If you get to meeting someone, meet in a public place somewhere other than where your home is;

Never give anyone money, whatever the ‘sob’ story is - in fact, if they mention money in any way, run a mile!

Take it very slowly to begin with!

Think that’s about it!! I know people who have had very successful relationships start through a website meeting but others who have been badly stung. However lovely the person sounds in emails, even on the phone, they can still turn out to be demanding, possessive, selfish, unkind - have any number of undesirable traits.

But, on the other hand, they could be absolutely lovely and the person of your dreams!!

Good luck - I hope you enjoy the experience and something wonderful happens to you.

The same ones everyone should.

People are out there who will take advantage of the lonely. People are out there who want your time, attention, and money - and might not give you anything in return. People are out there who are emotionally and/or mentally unstable (and sometimes just outright criminal) on the internet in *at least* the same proportion they are in real life.

I worked with a guy who works straight midnight shift. Saw him again the other day. He has just finished a nasty divorce a little over a year ago, and decided he would try his hand at online ‘dating’. With women in Thailand. And he wouldn’t listen to us. And it is working about as well as you think it would.

The first one he ‘dated’ we’re pretty sure wasn’t even a woman. Or in Thailand. This ‘person’ would only ever text, chat, or email - nothing ‘live’ like a phone call or anything with a video feed (like Skype). Sent them odd bits of money to ‘help’ with things (apparently everyone in Thailand regularly crashes their scooters and motorbikes, it has been a common theme with everyone he’s ‘dated’). We finally convinced him ‘she’ wasn’t real when he sent them a phone in the mail and they *still* wouldn’t talk to him with a voice or send live video. I am guessing he got a few pictures of some naked Asian woman out of it but, at the ratio of dollars spent versus picture gotten, free ones on the internet would of been a whole lot cheaper.

The second one was at least a live female person. He spent a *lot* of money on helping her out with motor scooter repairs, replacing the air conditioning system her brother stole, and whatever story they could make up at the moment. He was eventually rewarded with a trip over there to actually meet this person. It went better than we (his coworkers) expected; he wasn’t stood up OR robbed and left at the side of the road somewhere. He *did* get to take her, and her ‘extended’ family, many places in Thailand and pay for everything for all of them. He also bought and installed shelving, countertop, and appliances in a house, and did some handyman work at more than one ‘relative’s’ house that he even paid for the material at. She was trying to convince him to buy ‘her mother’s house’ for her, of course she would handle all the paperwork, after he returned. She broke it off when he wouldn’t and had a ‘girlfriend’ she ‘knew was interested in him’ contact him. At least he wasn’t killed, and he might of even gotten to sleep with her (I don’t know if the extended family she traveled everywhere with watched or not), but she sure was an expensive date.

The new one he was ‘dating’ when I saw him last wants to get married, have him buy a house over there, and have riding elephants as part of the ceremony. Who knows how much money he has sent her.

I wished him luck and that, again, he needed to be careful that he didn’t end up rolled and left for dead on the side of the road in Thailand. That he probably only got out of that the last time because they thought they could get a whole lot more money out of him alive. That she might of even sold his name to the next woman as an easy mark. He just laughed. =)

In no special order —

There are some married men or men living with women on dating sites who try to pass themselves off as “available” men. If a man won’t give you his last name and/or lies about where he lives, there’s a good chance that he’s married.

Read his profile, carefully, as it will give you clues as to what he’s like and what he’s looking for, however, you can’t believe everything that you read.

If he sounds too good to be true, he probably is.

Meet in a public place. It’s probably better to meet in the daytime.

Don’t get into his car on the first date.

If you live alone in a house, don’t let him know where you live until you’ve been out with him several times.

Don’t, under any circumstances, give him money or have him invest money for you.

There are some nice men on dating sites, but not all of the men are nice. Good luck!

1. Find the right site(s) that work for you. Trying to meet someone on Tinder probably won’t work. Try Ourtime, Plenty of Fish, Silver Singles and or Match.
2. Have nice photos. At least one that shows your face and one that shows your full body. Think about having a pro take photos.
3. Don’t limit yourself any more than you have to. Profiles that have long lists of people who should not respond. I am sort of turned off by profiles that go:, no one over 20 miles, college graduates only, no one shorter than 6 feet, no smokers, no one who voted for Trump, etc, etc, They strike me as someone who would be a PITA.
4. Be active in contacting people you might be interested in.
5. Spell check your profile info. Typo’s can make you seem stupid. A well written profile can help a lot.

A couple of years ago I saw a headline on MSN that read something like “12 tips for great success on dating sites. I thought oh, great I may get some good ideas. It was the stupidest thing I ever saw and would do more harm that good, They went something like 1. Lie about your age, 2, Photoshop your photos or use old photos. 3 Lie about your income. 4. Lie about your education. I think that is terrible advice. It may get you some first dates you would not get otherwise but the real you will prevail and you will just end up wasting time and disappointing yourself and the person you meet. Being hones pays.

Anyone who is slim build and not terribly fit/strong regardless of age/sex is advised to be sensible about where they meet people - choose a public space rather than a dimly lit Park or a out of the way pub up an alleyway, no matter how nice that pub looks in daytime, you do not want to invite trouble into your life as some people get drunk BEFORE they meet you for a “Date/social drink”.

Who & what people are looking for on dating sites varies enormously from people who want to run wild & free and find a partner who also likes Extreme Sports, to someone who might be older (or injured/born disabled) who’s looking for a more sedentary companion. Society is infested with people who practise deception so all are advied to do everything they can to establish the NATURE of whoever they meet. My advice is that you pay a lot of attention to how much the person you meet, drinks, and especially pay attention if they’re texting anyone else or taking more than one phone call during your Date. I once met up with someone who spent the entire time replying to texts, it wasn’t exactly an enjoyable “date” - years later I discovered that this individual or their supposedly Later Met partner had actually abused my home address by setting up a Life Insurance policy in their name claiming them to own/occupy MY home! (This was proven to me face to face by a member of Bank Staff to whom I shall be eternally grateful for proving to me that I wasn’t ‘going mad’, and I wasn’t wrong); What the person had been doing was sending feedback to a 3rd party that I was till in the pub, presumably the texts were going to the person I later found out had robbed her employer of £25,000 Takings before the two of them emigrated to the USA in presumably financed by the Fraud Proceeds of a Life Insurance Payout after they faked the death of one or other of them. (You’ve probably guessed that I stopped dating a long time ago!) Older people using dating sites can be more prone to this type of Fake Date scenario, and younger people might be more prone to being overcome by a drunkard who loses control of themself. I’d advise anyone to take a friend with them if they can who can sit/stand at a discreet distance on the first Date & help make sure nothing untoward happens.

Whatever you do - do NOT go to someone’s house (or to a party at their friend’s house) until you’ve met and chatted with someone several times. Make sure your phone is charged before you go out and has credit allowing you to make at least half a dozen calls. Tell your family members or close friendswhere you’re going out to and when you’ll be back. Websites will usually issue similar Good Practice advise to people regardless of their age/Dating aims.

When meeting someone from an online dating site for the first time in a public place, it's essential to prioritize safety. Beforehand, share your location and plans with a trusted friend or family member. Meet in a well-lit, busy area during the daytime. Avoid secluded or isolated spots. Trust your instincts and if something feels off, leave immediately. Do not share personal information or bring valuables. Stick to public transportation or your own vehicle. Lastly, be cautious with alcohol and never accept drinks from strangers. Remember, safety should always come first in any dating situation.

I'm struggling with this to. I chose to go to LDS Planet which is for active Mormons but their site kind of doesn't work instead of sending real reply is sent back what you sent to the person. I'm considering match.com. On the other hand I'm thinking of waiting till April or May hopefully covid-19 and getting out meeting people. Since I was in retail furniture sales I'm going to look around different stores and see if I can find a woman that my appropriate age and get to know her and then ask her out. There's got to be other way maybe on Craigslist but anytime I post are even if it's something pure nothing sexual it gets edited out I don't know what's wrong with their company going to write them. What about social Gatherings at different churches there was one place I used to play the organ add a church different of mine but there were attractive women there when they start congregating again I think I might go to that church baby just to meet someone. Anyway it's very difficult see if Craigslist would work for you put a catchy phrase and it might work

Q: What is the difference between a dating app for seniors and a dating site for seniors?

A: The subject matter, “Seniors” is not relevant.

The real question is the difference between an “app” and a “site”.

An “app” is short for “application” and is software installed directly to a computer. For instance, “Firefox” is an application, and is installed to your computer, tablet, phone, etc.

TYPICALLY, when someone refers to an “App”, they are meaning this in the context of an application that gets installed to a phone.

With this in mind, a “dating app” is an application that is installed directly to your phone, usually from a centralized application repository provided by either Google or Apple.

A dating SITE is simply a website, that is for dating. And if it is for Seniors, it is a dating site for seniors. This means that the contents, information, etc are accessed via a web browser (which is an app).