Why.... just why?

Hmm, if you want to "talk about normal stuff" you really need to meet people in a normal way, like outside or in a club.
the trouble with on line meeting is that when you meet in real life the other person can guess that you might be local to the area, your age can be visually assessed as can wether you're nice to look at or be near,
on line all this is impossible and people that lie on profiles tend to be stupid, hence the "how old are you? Knowing your profile says 28 they'll then ask," when were you born? Oh 12 jan 1965 would be my reply now they know they've found a lying git, within a few messages they'll want a photo, now it's no use me sending a selfie, I've said I'm 28 and a look 50 so I'll scour the net, but they are going to reverse image the photos. On line friendships sart on the presumption that at least one of you is lying, a few simple questions can save a lot of wasted time and effort.