Ever since apps started to become really popular, so did online dating. These apps were specifically for people looking for love on the internet. Sometimes you meet the love of your life and sometimes you meet a person who is not so fit for you.
A lot of people around the world participate in online dating. Personally, I have tried it and it hasn’t worked out for me. But just because it didn’t work out for me, doesn’t mean it didn’t work out for somebody else. I tend to see my co-workers and classmates swiping back and forth for love. Online dating has its advantages and disadvantages as far as staying safe with sharing your personal information and being honest with the other individual. According to Pew’s Research Center chart, most people who participate in online dating see it as very positive. It goes from “they were physically attracted to” to “were looking for the same kind of relationship”. Surprisingly, even though they would just get to knowing each other, they deemed it as typically easy to communicate. This actually makes it easier for people to find friends or find relationships. But a downside to this is cutting out the social scene. This might make people scared to talk to people in public since they are so used to talking online.
To be honest, the dating culture has taken a very big turn and it shows and grows almost everyday. Usually people get online to actually try and find love and/or friends. But nowadays, online dating usually gravitates towards hooking up. Mainly people in their younger ages are using dating sites the most to hook up. The older crowd is looking for long term relationships and friendships. According to Forbes.com, they state that “online dating has increased by approximately 36% in only two years. It’s also both clear and unsurprising that millennials (ages 18 to 34) are making more use of online dating services than their parents and grandparents”. Since parents and grandparents didn;’t have little to no internet back then, they didn’t really get the full experience for online dating. In my opinion, if older people got into online dating before young people did, the numbers would be extremely higher and far as the utilization goes. More people would be going to online dating for love issues and answers. According to Kochava Collective who collected information on the top dating sites that was posted on goodhousekeeping.com states “tinder has the highest number of users. If you want the most options available, this one is the way to go and on Bumble, women are in control. The ladies are the ones who get to initiate communication. Kochava says most of its users are in the 26- to 35-year-old age range, so it’s also good for younger daters”. This shows that not only young people between the ages of 18-24 are the only ones doing online dating. Older adults are also getting in on the action.
I interviewed a friend named Will. Will has been in a relationship for almost 2 years and I decided he would be a good pick on discussing this topic. I asked him how he feels about online dating and he says he hates it. He stated that most of the people he met online was not all that he thought it would be. He went out on dates but most of the dates were very awkward and didn’t know how to get to know each other since it was an instant connection through the app. This would correlate with the in graph above stating that only %12 of people get married from online dating. He met his partner in person and he said that’s way better than meeting online and trying to get to know somebody over the internet.
I got in contact with a girl that I am good friends with and asked her some questions on the topic and her outlooks on online dating. Her name was Carla and she also hated it. Carla explained to me how some of the men she met online were lying about what they did and their names. As you know, when you online date, you don’t know anything but what the other person tells you and it could not be very honest at all. According to Eharmony.com, it states that “53% lie on their online dating profile. 20% of women surveyed by global research agency Opinion matters admitted to using an older photo from when they were younger and thinner. More than 40% of men said they lied about their jobs in an effort to sound more successful”. This could be very dangerous for people who use this because they would be portraying himself/herself to be someone that they really are not and that could throw the individual off that is interested in them. Since Carla is single, she tends to engage in conversations in her neighborhood, the gym and campus to mingle.
Overall, online dating has its ups and downs. But it does fit a lot of people when trying to find love. It might be their anxiety problems why they can’t approach people or something else. But online dating gives these people ease to meet and greet their future partners.
Cited sources: Eharmony
Bloomsburg Infographics 