Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time is a collection of short stories grappling with the wake of the world created by the First World War. The BBC’s In Our Time is a radio program which has provided intellectual and cultural commentary for decades. But, when logged into Our Time, the Over 50 dating site that’s catching steam of late, you’ll be able to forge connections of your own while engaging in conversations with those silver heads and golden hearts.
So, what’s this site all about, and is it worth your time? Let’s take a look.
Site overview
One of the great things about dating sites such as Our Time is the fact that it accounts for the mood and typical mindset of the Over 50 set when it comes to technology. Where Gen X, Millennials and the generation now succeeding them all grew up in a world of computers, with the latter two coming of age in an era dominated by apps such as Tinder and Bumble, older generations have no such equivalent.
That doesn’t make every Millennial an impatient Tinder addict, as media outlets so often seem to portray them. It does, however, mean that, given their greater familiarity with apps and sites which connect broader groups of people faster, they are, on average, more comfortable making those connections faster and with people from more diverse backgrounds.
You click someone’s Facebook profile or Swipe Right on Tinder, and in an instant, you’re connecting to someone new and exciting anywhere in the world (in theory, at least.)
Older generations, however, are naturally more used to forging connections the old-fashioned way, and, thus, tend to want to take things a bit slower and really get to know people before opening up to them in a substantial way.
That’s why it’s great that Our Time offers its clients both a personality quiz, as well as matchmaking services based on that. After you’ve answered a few questions, the algorithms will show you others it determines match your personality and tastes.
That narrows the field considerably, while still offering a more deliberate and less rapid-fire approach than Tinder.
By contrast, Our Time functions more like a technology age update of traditional dating methods – you try and find someone with some common interests, send a message to say hello, and take it from there.
On arriving at the site, you’ll see a “Search Now” button prominently displayed. Click that, answer a few questions as to what you’re looking for, and you’ll soon be signed up and ready to go.
Getting started
What do you do when you first get into the site. Let’s start by discussing the free service. If you just try the free service then go to the site:
- Click the Search Now
- It will ask you:
- Man seeking women
- Woman seeking man
- Man seeking man
- Woman seeking women
- Click one of them
- It will ask what color is your hair so answer that question
- Will ask what is the color of your eyes
- Then it will ask how tall are you which are all multiple choice with heights listed
- The next question is what is your ethnicity
- They ask what is your body type
- What is your marital status is the next question
- How many children do you have
- Number of children living with you
- Do you smoke
- What is your country
- What is your zip code
- What is your date of birth
- Enter your first name and password
- It asks for your email
- Then you have to answer a few questions:
- A little about me….(Your passions, what makes you a great partner, etc.)
- About the one, I am looking for…(Key personality traits, values, relationship priorities, etc.)
- I’d just like to add…(Interests you hope to share, ingredients of a great relationship, anything important you haven’t mentioned.)
- Then you will need to upload your photo, make sure it is a current one and a really good one of you
This point you can get started searching for members. You can see the people that have looked at your profile or you can view the different profiles of people in your area. It is really pretty easy.
The paid service you have the same set up so you do not have to do that again but to get the full benefits of the site you will have to pay for one of the memberships.
Communication
Once you have looked around and checked out some profiles you will want to maybe try to communicate with a few women or men depending on what you are looking for on the site.
- Flirt – when people view your profile you will see who viewed it and a flirt button next to them. If they look like someone you want to communicate with you can click the flirt.
- Send messages – you can communicate through the messaging system on the site.
- Gifts – you can also get like virtual gifts form people.
- ConnectMe feature – allows you to text or talk to members offline but it keeps your phone number private.
- Message ideas – You can send 4 questions that people can answer when they send you a message.
Everything you can control from your home page so do not get overwhelmed with the information we provide. You will understand it better once you get signed up and into the website and into your main page.
Site features
As stated, the meat of Our Time is its match system. You’ll be able to fill out your interests, hobbies, and other questions pertaining to your tastes and lifestyle. You can add as much or as little as you want, though as in real life, being too reserved can cause others to simply pass you by.
On your profile page, you probably want something that’s going to draw readers in and distinguish yourself from the litany of other profiles on the site. If you are worried about giving away too much too soon or want to take more of a wait and see approach as to how well this whole online dating thing can work, you can add some info now and always add later.
Who I like section:
- Shows all the people you have shown an interest in
- Keeps track of the flirts you sent
- Profiles that you have clicked as a favorite
- Profiles with the photos of members
- All the profiles you have viewed
Great way to keep track of who you have had an interest in and have contacted.
Search section:
- Hot or not is where you can swipe through profiles
- Standard search functionality which includes
- Age
- Location
- Photos
- Advanced search:
- Online or not
- Body build
- Religion
- Children
- Smoking habits
- Zodiac
- Height
- Type of relationship wanted
Profile pictures
That said, to get a response, you will all but certainly need a picture of yourself and should expect the same of potential matches. The picture is the key so it must be updated and it has to be you. You should not use an old picture when you were 20 pounds lighter. You also need a recent picture. While on the site it looks like most people did headshots only but a picture of your whole body would be helpful when matching.
You can add more than one photo which I know will help to get you more matches.
Additional features that cost:
- Match me
- Notify me
- Promote me
You need tokens to use on the site and you get the tokens by paying fees. An example is 25 tokens would cost $0.99. Not sure if you really need to use or buy these but they are available.
Handpicked matches:
- You get 10 handpicked matches every day
You can message users back and forth in real time, a standard feature of just about every matchmaking platform out there today.
You will also be able to browse articles written by “dating experts,” so if you’re looking to read a bit of matchmaking advice and then put theory into practice, Our Time can be a great place to do just that.
Scammers
You need to be careful anytime you are online no matter if it a dating website or on email. There are criminals everywhere who want to take your money from you. They will pray on your loneliness to try and get money out of you.
Many scammers target older individuals so just know you may come across fake profiles or scammers. It is simple to avoid the scam by never giving any personal information or money to anyone ever.
There is no one that should be asking you for money right when you first meet. Anyone you meet online should never need your personal information or your money. They will give you some heartbreak story but you need to resist the urge to help by sending money. I would end the communication and report them to OurTime immediately if you suspect foul play.
Data breakdown
Our Time is one of the most popular sites for the 50 and above set, with 8.9 million visitors per month. That means that there’s a ton of activity on the site, and so a great deal of diversity among its users.
What’s more, it’s an almost even split, with women only a percentage point or two ahead of men in terms of Our Time’s users.
Pricing information
Like many dating sites, the bare bones features of Our Time is free to use. To use the tools that give you a better shot at finding a match, you’ll have to pay a fee. Thankfully, these are quite small. The fees are also available on a sliding scale.
Allowing you to make a long term commitment with a small cost:
- $11.99 a month for a six-month commitment
A shorter term deal for a slightly larger cost:
- $23.99 a month for a monthly membership
Something in the middle price range:
- $17.99 a month for a three-month commitment
Ease of use
Using Our Time is nice and simple, with lots of dropdown menus and guided choices. Uploading photos and videos, as well as sending messages, are incredibly easy, and shouldn’t require any extra “practice” on your part to get the hang of the system. In addition, Our Time offers a nice feature whereby they offer a list of suggested current events in your area for when you find a match and are ready to meet up in real life.
Pros and cons
The news with Our Time is nearly all positive.
Pros:
- With the free setup, you will not be able to do everything on the site but you will be able to do enough to see if the site will work for you
- The site is a very over 50 friendly site so if you are not tech savvy no problem figuring things out
- Large selection of members to choose from so there is someone for everyone on the site
- The custom matching algorithm will deliver to you targeted matches every day, which is convenient
- The website has many site features which help you better interact with other site members
Cons:
- You need to be aware and careful of fake profiles and scammers
- There are many features which may be confusing to some people
- Some advanced features require additional purchase
In Conclusion
Our Time is, quite simply, a dating site that doesn’t waste your time. It is upfront about what it is and offers, and for those looking to take advantage of an easy and accessible Over 50 dating website, it can prove to be a great way to find someone with whom you’ll have the time of your life.