Online Dating
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Institution:
Online Dating
Outline
- Online dating, otherwise known as internet dating, is a system of dating that allows individuals to meet online and communicate with each other.
- Main difference with ordinary dating is that people lie and get away with it, considering one is communicating with a stranger until the day they meet.
- Despite many shortcomings, more and more people are
embracing online dating.
- More than 11% of internet user in United States visiting online dating sites in 2006
- Increasing internet users as well as easy access to the internet even from cell phones
Online Dating
With increasing technology and less time for outdoor activities in a world where people seek to love and to be loved back, human beings have invented ways of ensuring that this part of life is not overlooked. Online dating, otherwise known as internet dating, is a system of dating that allows individuals to meet and communicate on the internet. It works by allowing each person to provide some personal information as well as a photo if they so wish. From such information, they are matched with other prospective members. When another member of the dating site is interested, the two can make contact with each other through chatting and instant messages until they can finally decide to meet face-to-face (Finkel et al, 2012).
One of the main differences this form of dating has with ordinary dating is that people can lie and get away with it, considering one is communicating with a stranger. This goes on until the day two people decide to meet. This is considered as one of the shortfalls of anonymity. Many people, especially women, post photos of other women whom they think would attract more suitors only to show up as a different person on the day of meeting. This is quite disappointing, and one feels cheated (Epstein, 2007).
Despite
such shortcomings, more and more people are embracing online dating. It is
estimated that more than 11% of internet users in United States visited online dating
sites in 2006 (Frost, Chance, Norton & Ariely, 2008). This number is not
going down. Rather, it is increasing since internet users are increasing, and
it is easier to access the internet using mobile devices (Russell & Song,
2010). It seems an easy option where one searches for a partner as one would search
for a commodity. However, unlike a product, some of the things that people
search for include income, physical attractiveness and religion amongst others.
However, the most valuable things to search for in a partner are a sense of
humor, politeness, and other character traits that one cannot easily lie about.
The searchable characteristics such as income are easy to falsify. Despite its
problems, online dating is an excellent way of initiating an interaction that
could turn into a fulfilling relationship.
References
Epstein, R. (2007). The Truth about Online Dating: The hype is huge, and the findings are disturbing- but the future of online dating looks good. Scientific American Mind, 1(12): 28-35.
Finkel, et al. (2012). Online Dating: A Critical Analysis from the Perspective of Psychological Science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 13(1): 6-66.
Frost, J. H., Chance, Z., Norton, M. I., & Ariely, D. (2008). People Are Experience Goods: Improving Online Dating With Virtual Date. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 22(1): 51-61.
Russell, B. & Song, E. (2010). Rising Trends in Online Dating (Jan-Jun 2010) “Mobile Dating” comes of age. Google UK.