There is a big difference between wanting to meet face-to-face and wanting to moving too quickly into a relationship. Until you meet someone face-to-face, there are a lot of variables up in the air. Do they look like their photo? Is their photo even them? Can they hold a conversation (in person)? Or can they only type on a computer, from their mom's basement? Assuming they do speak, can they make you laugh? Do they pick up on social cues? What is their physical presence/demeanor like? Do they seem like the same person you were talking to online? Do you feel an attraction? Do they?

In my experience, the answers to these questions is often NO! You just can't trust that someone's online persona is their offline persona. It's for that reason that a lot of people want to push for a face-to-face meeting. Not becuase they want to rush into a relationship, but becuase they want to know that you are who you purport to be, and that there is enough of a connection there to make getting to know you worthwhile (via phone, text, email, and in person).

I did online dating for about a year and a half, which is how I met my current girlfriend. During this process, I ALWAYS pushed for a face-to-face meeting within 2 weeks. I wouldn't even wait a month! THat was NOT because I wanted to rush into a relationship, but because (1) I wanted to make sure they were the person in that photo, with the job, hobbies, and pet they claimed to have and (2) I wanted to know if there if there was enough chemistry to warrant spending any more time with them.

During this time, I probably went on dates with 25 different women. Prior to meeting them, each of the 25 women had attractive pictures, sent witty e-mails, had an interesting arrany of hobbies/life experiences, and seemed like someone I would (potentially) want to date. However, after meeting them in person, I only asked to see 3 of these women again. The other 22 either looked NOTHING like their picture (10 years older, 50lbs heavier, chopped their hair off, hadn't showered in the last 3 months, etc.), I found out that they lied about something on their profile, they had absolutely no social skills whatsoever, they were so boring I almost wanted to stab myself with my fork, or it was just painfully obvious that were so chemistry at all. Had I spent a couple of months talking to them online prior to meeting them, I would have wasted a lot of time AND a lot of emotional energy. I probably would have developped feelings for some of these women who didn't even really exist (i.e. my perception of the bright and engaging online woman, who was definitively NOT the smelly, unshowered, nearly bald woman who was too shy to say more than 5 words to me while I bought her dinner--and who told me half-way through that was her first outing from her parents' basement in 6 months).

After a few months of these kinds of experiences, I also learned a few things. The biggest lesson? If the person you are talking to does NOT want to meet face-to-face within a few weeks, there's probably a reason why. So, for me, that became the biggest red flag. It would always make me think: What is she hiding? And, a lot of the time, I was right. I'm willing to bet that some of the men you're talking to have had this experience as well. As a result, if you're unwilling to meet, that's probably worrying them. Hence, they're probably pushing that meeting even more (to prove you are who you say you are).

Of course, you have to do what feels comfortable for you. You shouldn't meet someone before you feel ready, and you should always meet them in a crowded, public place and you should tell someone where you are going (for safety reasons). But, my advice, would be to think of a face-to-face meeting as an early step in the dating process. After all, if you were being set up by a friend, or if you simply met someone in you daily life, that face-to-face meeting would be like a first impression. That first impression is an important piece of information that lets you decide whether or not you even want to pursue the next steps (phone calls, texts, longer dates, etc). Just because you meet someone face-to-face doesn't mean that things will start progressing rapidly. It just gives you enough information to know whether there should be a "date 2"-- or whether you should move on.