Everyone wants love. Whether it comes in the form of friendship, self-love, family or romantically, it is a desire most people have. Naturally, most people think of relationships when they think of finding love. The search for most starts around puberty and lasts a life time. But as we get older, it gets harder and harder to connect to people socially and emotionally.
So what do we do in a world where social media is actually making us anti-social? How do we connect and meet people? Think about it… how many people would rather text then call someone? It’s mainly my generation and on but still. Texting is the main form of communication between millennials these days because human interaction is scary. So we have to have a buffer to easy us in. That buffer is usually a social network or some sort of social app. A little while back I actually caught myself getting annoyed with someone that just called me out the blue without the courtesy of a text first. I got annoyed at that! Then, I took a step back and realized I had fallen into the trap of the age of technology where we need to be comfortable with someone before we want to interact with them face to face. Naturally, there’s an app for that. Many apps and sites dedicated to meeting new people. Now it is more common to make a new friend on a social media / dating app platform than it is to do it in the old fashioned way. I find myself considering people I’ve never met but regularly speak to on social media “friends.” That seems crazy to my parents but that’s the world we live in.
I’ve wanted to write this article for some time now but I wanted to focus on it when I felt like I had something meaningful to say. When I had a solid and defined idea of where I stood on the matter. After much consideration and lots and lots of observation, I say why not!? Why would it not work to find love online? I actually think if both the people have the right intentions and are serious it might actually be better.
Here’s my argument…
Let’s say you meet someone “the old fashioned way” at the grocery store. You both are studying the twenty different pasta types available and happened to reach for the exact same one. You’re hands lightly touch and you both shyly pull away awkwardly and mutter some barely audible apology under your breath. You both start laughing and jump into a conversation on the benefits of quinoa pasta versus whole wheat pasta and end up with a plan to finish the conversation on Saturday night over drinks. Did you like that scenario?? I’m actually proud of myself for coming up with what seems to be an opening scene of a Romantic Comedy starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling but you get the gist. Long story short, the scenario can either end up with the two people falling madly in love and or wasting a few dates getting to know each other before realizing they are not a good match. And sure, one party got a few drinks out of the deal but in a world where we constantly fall short on time, I feel like there’s a better way to do it.
Now, I don’t think you should solely rely on online dating and you have to have a great “bullshit radar” but I think online dating can expedite and greatly increase your odds for meeting your other half.
Here are the PROS:
- You can get to know someone on your own time. Not having to get dressed up and go meet someone is a huge time saver for me. You can talk to them whenever you have free time.
- It can go as fast or slow as you want it. You set your own pace.
- You can be a lot more open with someone and talk about topics that you might not be totally comfortable talking about face to face with someone new.
- If you don’t feel a connection, you can stop the conversation with no awkwardness.
- You are opened up to so many people around the world. If you believe in the soul mate scenario, what do you think the odds are that the one person you are meant to be with in the whole wide world will cross your path in person. What are the odds of that!? Online dating gives this theory a little help.
Here are the CONS
- You can be cat-fished. A person can pretend to be someone they are not.
- Photos can be misleading. People often edit their photos to make them look their best. What you see might not be what you get.
- It could be dangerous. Speaking from a girl’s perspective, I would be a little hesitant to meet a complete stranger. I would always be cautious and meet in bring, public places.
- People lie. Some people might put on a show to just sleep with you. It’s something that can’t be combated until you realize what they are doing. I would say, take a very long time to talk before and pay attention to any changing stories.
- It’s a little vain. Obviously we are all attracted to something. So meeting people through a picture is automatically going start off on a physical basis.
Our culture has changed dramatically from a few years back where meeting people online was tabu or shameful but now most young people have been on apps such as tinder and bumble and online websites such as eHarmony.com. I think the trend will only continue and even expand as more and more people will try these new ways of meeting someone.
What’s your opinion on online dating?
Here’s some statistics from: statisticbrain.com
What do you think?