Modern dating is rough. Here are some safe places to complain, seek advice: Video
Dating is complex. Once upon a time, it was a meet-cute in the grocery store, a blind date arranged by your twin sister or a childhood friend who you later fell in love with in high school. Now, there seems to be a lot less of the “organic” way of meeting people and a lot more of the digital way, ie: dating apps, reality TV shows, sliding into DMs and even using Paste BN to look for love.
One constant through all of the years is the need for advice. Advice columns have been around for decades, in the form of “Dear Abby,” Ann Landers columns and similar. However, it’s becoming increasingly popular to find dating coaches (or self-proclaimed dating coaches) on social media. Their content offers interesting insight and useful advice, but it’s not personalized and might not be helpful in the way that you’re looking for.
Watch this video to see where you can find some supportive outlets to vent about dating online.
Find singles in your area
Our friends are great resources. However, when you reach a certain age, many of them are coupled up and no longer understand the modern-day dating landscape. When I need some guidance or reassurance that I'm not alone in my frustration, I like to browse Reddit. There are a plethora of subreddits dedicated to dating, relationships and love.
Some of the most popular dating communities are:
- r/Dating: 6M members.
- r/Dating_advice: 4.6M members.
- r/Datingoverthirty: 1.1M members.
- r/ForeverAloneDating, with 284k members.
- r/Datingoverforty: 144k members.
There are also more specific communities, like LGBTQIA dating, Catholic or Christian dating and post-divorce dating.
You’ll find people ranting, raving, asking for and giving advice, and others showing empathy and sending some virtual love to the people who need it. All in real time. Plus, you don’t need a Reddit account to browse these spaces. However, you will need one to post or participate in the discussions.
You can also find dating advice groups on Facebook or solace with your single friends, but online forums like Reddit allow you to be anonymous. Whether you decide to post in these spaces or not, sometimes it’s just nice to know you’re not the only one.
If you prefer to keep your business to yourself, you may find it useful to “talk” to a chatbot like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft CoPilot. Depending on your scenario, artificial intelligence may help you sort out your thoughts, give you tips on dealing with getting ghosted or help you effectively communicate how you're feeling or what you need.
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Relationship Advice
Single people aren’t the only ones who need advice. Dating and married people also face their fair share of struggles. If there’s no one they can or want to go to in person, there are communities on Reddit that may be able to help them navigate what they are going through or at least provide a space for them to vent.
Popular relationship subreddits include:
- r/Relationship_advice: 15M members.
- r/Relationships: 3.6M members.
- r/LongDistance: 2.4M members.
- r/Marriage: 810k members.
- r/DeadBedrooms: 493k members.
- r/Polyamory: 395k members.
- r/BreakUps: 377k members.
- r/Divorce: 151k members.