Online dating and my dad...

[JemmimaP]

So... I'm setting up an online dating account for my dad. He's in his early 50's, well travelled, cultured, funny, kind, very handsome and a hard working medical professional. I think he's a catch and though he's not dated in a while, I think he would do well with online dating...

Thing is, I have no idea what site to use. Can anyone recommend/advise based on what I've told you about him?

Good question to ask, but definitively get him to set it up himself!

@Dirtybadger I'm only setting up the account for him and am going to review it after he's filled in the blanks ;) if it's there and set up for him he is far more likely to actually use it. If I leave him to do it, it'll become one of those things that he 'never got round to'...

If only he was 'up north.....i'd certainly be keeping an eye out for him 😁
I've tried guardian soul mates, but the choice seems to dwindle if you're not in a big city...match/eharmony, again, very disappointing...POF, zoosk...too many time wasters :(
So is be interested to see other suggestions for the late 40s/50s age group..

Bumble is the best one. It a the only one I use. Plus women can only message first!

Hope it works out for him x

I'm 50 (and in the South East and looking)
I'm on Tinder and POF.
Much prefer Tinder.
The guys seem more genuine and can only message each other if you match.
So you both have to swipe right before you can even chat.
Make sure he contacts them quickly and if they respond then a bit of chat and try to arrange a meet up quickly (but don't seem too eager).
Some women just want the chat and the ego boost so that will whittle down the time-wasters early on.
My DD set up my Tinder account. She knew I'd never do it otherwise.
It's a bit overwhelming to start with.
You are basically the shiny new thing and you get a lot of hits and matches. But it starts to slow down after a few weeks.
Good luck to him.
Tell him to just enjoy it and to not expect too much from it.

If he never gets round to it, maybe it's because he's not actually ready?
At 50-55 he's not exactly old, is he? Same age as my bf was when he made his own online profile and I read it. If I'd discovered he needed his daugher to set up the account I'd have wondered if he'd cut 20 years off his age!

He sounds great! West Midlands here ! Will deffo keep a look out. I have found Badoo quite good so far 😄

I helped my mum set up a profile on tinder and guardian soul mates. She didn’t feel comfortable with tinder in the end but she’s almost 70! If he’s looking for women his age though tinder should be ok. My mum is gorgeous and got the gilf/milf brigade out in force but after 44 years of marriage it made her a bit unsettled. She liked guardian soul mates but the pickings were thin.

He sounds lovely and it’s lovely you’re helping him.

I meant the pickings were slim in her area!

Speed dating is good to see what is out there in your area .

Has he tried any local singles meetups? I would do that first.

Online, he'd be in danger of con artists and gold diggers.

POF and OKCupid in the East Anglian area. I recently set up a profile for my friend who is nearer 60. She wouldn't have done it on her own but was happy for me to do it for her. I told her to keep an open mind and to block any werido's!
I think it's lovely you are doing this for your Dad, you must have a close relationship with him.

Why would your Dad need to use a dating site, he has many good attributes and goes out to work and travels etc.. I dare say he could set up on dating site himself,if he felt inclined to do so..

Happn is good as it matches you with people who have passed within a few hundred metres of you, so you'll either find someone you work beside or live beside, unless you're randomly visiting somewhere. You both have to like each other to be able to chat.

Classic FM dating seemed to have quite a good range of chaps in the South - none of them were interested in me, presumably because there were plenty of more attractive women on offer! It did constantly offer 'new matches' that didn't meet many of my criteria eg distance, but that was easy to ignore.

PS punto, your description of Happn makes me very glad I keep location services off unless I need it for direction finding, and I don't allow apps access to it! The idea of apps tracking people's movements appals me!

I worked beside Liverpool street, which as you can imagine is one of the busiest stations in London. Most of the guys worked walking distance from there. You don't get told where you've met precisely. It's very safe, because if you don't like a profile of someone you've crossed paths with, then they can't message you. I think it's the cleverest app I've used. I couldn't make head nor tale of Tinder.

Oh god he'd end up with a dating app full of his patients!

I guess Happn works for me because I work beside a very busy station. If you pay for the app, you can go incognito in certain places (e.g. work).
I like it anyway. Still single though!
I've found a better sort of clientele on Happn than on POF. Maybe due to the locations I frequent though.
On POF you can get messages from anyone (sometimes abusive). Also you can match with someone about 2 hours away from you though still in London.

Tinder or bumble. I’d definitely be put off knowing he needed his daughter to set up his profile though. And he’s in my age range!!

Thanks everyone!

@Notcoolmum he doesn't need me to do it, I'm just being nice. I'm not updating his profile. Just sending over the account details so he can just log in and crack on! I'm sure there would be lots of women out there who wouldn't be put off by that :)

Thanks everyone. Too much choice! Wouldn't life be so much easier if there was just one.....