They're nice, in my experience. Online relationships can involve just as much love an intimacy as you'd expect from real life relationships. Depending on the distance, they can be quite a challenge. (It's hard for young people to travel internationally, center huge life decisions around such large distances, etc)
I think my biggest complaint is how people seem to let themselves get caught up in cycles which lack progress via online dating.
Haven't voice chatted yet in a month of dating? Well it must be fine to go six months to a year without it! It's not important, I'm sure.
Sharing pictures? Not important~
Hey, hey! Let's not have serious disagreements or fights! Lets enjoy our time together since our hours are so far apart!
Oh, and since we're not beside one another physically, I'll go through extra effort to hide disatisfaction or hurt feelings and let them build up over time!
Really, I think it's about finding someone who can match your virtues, display traits you find admirable, commit the time and effort to you, and just genuinely make a consistent effort to learn about you, what's important to you, provide you with a constant sense of feedback and communication. Grow with you as a person, stuff like that.
It's especially nice to have people in your life that try to match you abilities and ask you why you like the things that you do and indulge in your outlooks.
So yeah, that's my thoughts. If you can both make it work - may as well try for it. It's hard enough to find good friends as is, let alone a good romantic and sexual partner.
Though I will say this. I doubt that online dating will have become the norm in 10 years because in 10 years we'll likely see advanced virtual reality - including some AI that can mimic humans to a fair degree.
Assuming the projected exponential progress in technology. We will likely see Robo dating or entirely online based romance/sex based gigs over video games or online communities of the future.