Love at First "Site"

"Love, lust, an escape from loneliness: out there in cyberspace, everything --yet nothing -- is new" (Maclean's p.4).
             Online dating and finding love in cyberspace has been an up and coming craze for some time now. It continues to grow and bring more people together in a much different way than we are used to. Young and old generations alike are finding online dating to be convenient and the most logical way to meet a partner, spouse, companion, or even just a person to talk to for an evening. The ability to start a relationship with someone from the comfort of your own home, from your computer, has become a very appealing benefit to online dating. No longer do individuals have to go out on the prowl for a husband/wife or lover and just hope by chance to meet someone through passing. With the advancements in technology and the creation of online dating, now we are able to browse profiles and pictures and pick and choose what individuals are to our taste and liking and decide to date from there.
             It is utterly impossible to meet someone now days. We have become too busy, too self-absorbed, or possibly too lazy to approach another individual and get to know them. Many moons ago our grandparents were able to meet at school, at a dance, at the ice cream shop down the street. However, times they are a changing. When we are at the grocery store it is usually the last thing on our mind to meet someone that we will spend the rest of our lives with. We are more than likely in a rush and just want to get back to life outside of the store. The most common place for singles to meet in our time is unfortunately going to be at a bar setting. The bar scene isn't the most ideal place to meet a lifelong partner and someone that you'd likely bring home to meet mom and pop. Relationships started and based at the bar have a tendency to not last as long, and with alcohol involved the motives of the relationship can quickly change as well. A casual encounter can become a strictly sexual relationship in the blink of an eye.
              Online dating can eliminate all these pesky nuisances of the "normal" "old fashioned" way of meeting someone. No longer do we have to go to the gym looking our best, hoping, and praying that we will meet that special someone today. There is no rush or sense of urgency with online dating. We can now take our time and be picky on who we would consider dating and spending more time with. From the ease of our home, we can hop online at 2 am or 12 pm and start the process of meeting a soul mate. This is a wonderful thing for single parents who are extremely busy but would still like to meet that certain someone. Time and convenience have become so important to us as human beings, most feel it's a waste of time to mess around with relying on pure luck to meet someone. We might be waiting forever if we relied completely on luck these days. Being able to communicate with a potential date online before actually meeting in person brings the luck factor back of the relationship actually lasting.
                According to an online dating statistics website, there are nearly 54 million single people in the United States and about 40 million who have tried online dating. This displays that the vast majority of singles in the U.S. are attempting to meet someone online at one point or another. Although it does not work out for everyone, there are hundreds of thousands of individuals out there that claim they have found true love online. Statistics show that just about 1 out of 6 marriages are a result of online dating. This is huge! According to research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, this is more than twice the number of people who met at bars, clubs or any other type of event combined. The study also shows that if you expand this to not just marriages, but to committed relationships, the number is even greater at 1 out of 5. Online dating has jumped to the 3rd most important way people meet their significant others, only being beat out by meeting someone at school or through family members.
              Some might say that online dating is cheating or perhaps even attempting to mess with fate, however the benefits prove to outweigh the cons. Everyone should give it a try before they knock it. With continual changes in society and time constraints people have become more open to doing new things, including dating online. This openness is crucial to our growth and acceptance of the way the world works these days.
Wilson-Smith, A. (2003, October 6). WHEN DATING GETS DIRTY. Maclean's. p. 4. http://www.statisticbrain.com/online-dating-statistics/
http://www.neatorama.com/2010/04/20/1-in-6-marriages-met-online/

3 comments:

flowerpups said...

You are so right! Dating online has become one of the easiest ways to meet a partner. Although, I have to play devils advocate and also remark that it has made cheating or infidelity almost as easy as because of sheer accessibility. I also have to say people who date online, have a huge disadvantage and advantage over other dating methods. When meeting someone online there is a social barrier that a person can hide behind. On one hand they could be completely honest, sincere, and their selves, because there is not the pressure to perform until you are actually together. On the other hand, people can lie about what they look like, they can say things in writing that would come across much different if said in person. However as a whole, I would have to agree with you, it is utterly impossible to meet someone now a days and it's wonderful to have this alternative resource to meet the next person of our dreams. Great post - thank you for sharing.

A. Painter said...

I fully agree with what you have posted. There are great points and bad points with online dating. I believe online dating is much easier then bar hopping or meeting at church. I have tried the online dating and it has its ups and downs with going this way. I have met two men online that I have had long term relationships and that is including the current boyfriend. In a way it is cheating on the old fashion method of dating and getting to know someone. However, for a person that has a busy life of being a single mom, fulltime career, and school it has made it easier to meet someone. It has also made life less lonely since I don’t have much free time. In this fast paced life we live in now it is all about the convenients of what the technology can give us. The infidelity in relationships is the major downfall of the online dating. There has been many broken marriages due to the convenients of finding someone online. The internet makes it easier to cheat on a spouse or significant other. Great post! Thanks

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