Yes, I think this is about right.  The other advantage of online dating though, is that you can (virtually) meet a hell of a lot more people than you can in real life.  And, really, meeting your partner is as much a numbers game as anything else.  The more shots you take, the more likely that one pans out.  

It's awesome. Basically Amazon for women. You can find pretty much whatever you're looking for. Also, like Amazon, sometimes what you think you're getting isn't what you actually expect.

As for the women, I'm not sure how they deal with it. I was a black male in my late 30s and I was getting notifications all the time. I imagine women are pretty much overwhelmed with messages and pics (of my penis and others). I don't envy them.

The trick is to get what you want and don't get greedy. There's always the thought, "I can do better" lingering in the back of your mind. I assume that's why so many women never find what they're looking for and end up alone. I was on a dating site way back in 2013. Some of those same women are still there now, looking for "true love". Some I've actually dated.

I live in Germany and online dating doesn’t seem to work here as good as in North America because germans are known to be way less outgoing than Americans, so it was never an option for me to get to know new people but once I’ll move to North America sometimes in the future I’ll definitely give it another chance.

THe majority of people who go to online dating are people already absorbed in other social media and accustomed to wide variety and quick solutions. There are not many there worthy of an actual relationship because of this. Maybe a few, but with the prior types dominating the sites, the chances that you’ll get to them before everyone else ruins their morals and psychology is very slim. Nice to cure lonliness or build confidence on occasion though or make them worse depending on your situation. If it makes it worse, then you are definitely not benefiting and looking in the wrong place.

Yeah that's a good point.  I know there would have been little to no chance of meeting my wife if I hadn't done it via a (paid) dating site.  And I think that's another important point.  If you have to pay for it, you're more likely to meet people who are taking it seriously.  It's been well over a decade since I've even logged into a dating site, so I don't know what format they take at the moment, but this whole swipe right thing or whatever people are doing these days isn't really forcing you to put a lot of work into it.  And if you have people not putting work into it, your results probably won't be as good.

I've not online dated but I really like fooling around on Tinder with my friends' accounts, it's not for dating, to me it's more like a game where I just swipe for girls I/my friend likes and I "win" when my friend gets matched.

Some of my friends are like pros on the app, they get like 40 matches, it's fun to see what they message and have a go at trying cringy lines on them.

I'll try it for real during summer, I've got to socialise now that I don't have a girlfriend and I absolutely HATE being alone. I can definitely see the appeal of tinder, it's kinda addictive and they've made this app look more like a fun game to play rather than an app to finding a serious relationship.

Cheers mate. I'm sticking with it; I have a certain stubbornness to my nature that has served me well in life, as it can be converted into perseverance. I'm not willing to give up just yet, disheartening though the odds may be.

I didn't find this at all.  In fact, this is totally wrong, based on my experience.  I found people of all types, backgrounds, ethnicities, socio-economic status, etc.  It seems to be just a basic cross section of that population.  

For those of you who have found success in online dating, which apps/sites did you find most useful?

Useless.