Hi Sophia,
A consistently negative online dating experience can have a negative impact on your mental health. Yes, dating is supposed to be enjoyable, fun and playful.
If you are feeling more and more anxious lately when it comes to online dating, you should take a moment to ask yourself about how you approach these dates. If you come to them with a lot of expectations, your body language may have some rigidity to it that could easily make your date feel uneasy.
Try approaching these dates with the mentality of having a good time with no expectations. This helps to make you a lot more open and relaxed on your dates. Having this approach to your dates increases the likelihood that your match will follow your lead. If you are loose and relaxed, they emulate you. This increases the chances that you both have a fun time.
Instead of calling it quits on online dating, try using this approach on the next few dates that you go on and there is a good chance that you won’t keep feeling as anxious.