Can “google” Doom a Date?

Try to imagine life before Google. How on earth did anyone find a pesto recipe at a moment’s notice? Or, check movie times in just one click? Or, do homework on a prospective date?

Yes, these days, it’s virtually impossible to resist the running an Internet search on a guy. If you met him online, or he asked you out after chatting you up at a bar, it’s only smart to hop online and make sure he’s not a sleazebag in real life. But, there’s one circumstance when Googling will harm your chances of a potential relationship: when someone you know is vouching for the guy. If he’s a friend of a friend, you already know he isn’t a psycho killer. So you’ll really be Googling him to dig into his past, which is not a good idea.

Googling feeds your curiosity and gives you a sense of control over the nerve-racking early stages of dating. But, if you have a personal connection to him, it does more harm than good. This is how it can backfire:

Image via Wikipedia

YOU’LL HAVE TO FAKE IT

If you read on a guy, your conversation will be inauthentic since you’re pretending to learn things you already know! You’ll need to keep track of what he tells you versus what you’ve unearthed online. Plus, you’ll be forced to feign surprise like, “Oh! That’s where you really went to school?”, when he reveals you something you’d found out earlier.

YOU’LL MAKE WRONG ASSUMPTIONS

Since you have limited info about a new guy, anything you do know takes on an exaggerated degree of importance. But, the opinion you form of him based on “facts” gleaned from the Web will likely be skewed. Let’s say you learned he’s from a wealthy clan or seen a photo of him surrounded by skunks. You’ll jump to conclusions– often incorrect ones.

YOU’LL FEEL YOU KNOW HIM WHEN YOU ACTUALLY DON’T

Finding out lots about a guy creates an artificial– and STALKERISH– attachment in your mind.

YOU’LL CHEAT YOURSELF

Discovering via Internet that he studied in Italy and wrote an award-winning thesis isn’t as fun as learning it first-hand. Let’s face it, it robs you of the excitement of his telling you.

So, once you’ve confirmed that he’s not a puppy-abusing serial killer, do both of you a favor and use Google for something CONSTRUCTIVE.