What did your friends and family first say when you told them that you put up a profile on a dating website? Did your mom say that you were going to meet a serial killer who would stab you to death on your first date? Did your friends tell you that the only people you'll meet on the site will be horribly desperate? Did you think any of these things before you signed on?

The internet has long been a misunderstood tool. There are no headlines in the newspapers that read "Local woman meets polite friend over the internet." Instead they all read "Another victim savagely murdered by an online predator."

But what's wrong with meeting new friends and potential significant others via the net? Nothing. Some of the other avenues of meeting people, include having your friends set you up on blind dates, the bar scene, or hanging out at Starbucks for days on end hoping that you'll catch the eye of an attractive latté drinker typing on their laptop, won't work for everyone.

1. Will it work for you?

One of the advantages of meeting someone over the internet is that you have a chance to get to know them before you meet them in person. Through a profile, you can find out their vital statistics and interests. When you communicate via e-mail you can take your time responding to their messages and don't have to worry about saying something stupid.

2. No pressure

It's also easier because of the nature of the site where you don't have to communicate with all members that communicate with you. You're not obligated to talk to a member if you don't like their profile or the message that they sent you. If you do decide to communicate with them, but don't want to meet them it's also easier to let them down. With so many other members on the site, it shouldn't be a crushing blow to someone that they lost one potential match out of many.

3. Does online work better than offline?

In many ways online dating works much better than real life dating. Although some think that meeting someone online takes away the human element in relationships, it actually helps to build a stronger relationship. If you just start talking to someone in real life you have to find out everything about them through conversation and you might only later find out that their goals or lifestyles conflict with yours.

4. You know more about them

If you access a profile you know whether they have children, you know what interests they have, you know the area that they live in, etc. Reading over someone's profile can help you decide whether you want to contact someone or not and if you do, you can ask any additional questions that you want without having to find out all of the basic information that is already on their profile.

5. It's not as dangerous as you think

While some are convinced that people on the internet are going to be criminals who are looking for innocent victims to prey on, the fact of the matter is that there are plenty of criminals (all looking for innocent victims to prey on) that you can meet in the offline world. Being on the internet doesn't raise the odds of meeting a felon. This is not "To Catch a Predator."

6. Lonely and desperate?

So your friends tell you that the only people you're going to meet online are going to be sad, lonely losers who have to turn to the internet because they can't get a date in real life. People use internet dating sites for plenty of reason, not because they're hopeless. If you're in a small town it can be difficult to meet new people so using a dating site helps you to find someone in your area.

7. Military advantage

Lots of people in the military also use dating sites because once they move to a new area it's difficult to find new friends and especially difficult to find dates. Using the an internet dating site can introduce them to lots of people in a short amount of time. This is especially helpful and even if they move to a different base, they can still keep in contact with the people that they met as well as find new potential matches in their area.

Dating websites have gradually gained respect in society. Through the advertising campaigns of several high profile dating sites, people have become used to the idea and have even recognized that there are advantages to online dating. The stigma against these websites is fading fast.