The beginnings of online dating were grim. Online Chat-Rooms and shady profile pictures were the only outlets to a somewhat unexciting life. The only people perusing the faces and claims of others were those that were:
a. Clueless
b. Creepy
I know that when Chat rooms first began, I was just at the dawn of my internet experience. My friends and I at the tender age of 11 always thought it to be an exciting thing to get on the "net" and chat it up with some "hotties" in chat-rooms full of kids our own age claiming to also be 18 with a stellar BOD. LOL. Consistently lieing about our age to people who consistently lied about their identity created a mockery of the entire dating system. I do believe that the rise of chat-rooms also resulted in the rise of mystery meetings between chat-room lovers. Usually including an underage female and, (to her horror) a 55 year old sexual predator hiding under the name "footballstud69." Sadly, most of these relationships were not mutually beneficial, or legal.
Because of this rise in illegal behavior on the internet, most shuddered at the idea of an online dating community. (You never know who could be behind that profile picture.) Commercials and print advertising for companies such as Match.com and eHarmony.com have inspired hope in those woed by the dating game. But, it has been an uphill battle.
There has been a migration from the online dating game from the creepy scene to the not-so-creepy scene. Creepy being those people who have no where else to go to find "true love," and, not-so-creepy being those whom have just had a rough play at the dating game. Those whom we consider normal, business people. It is an interesting thing to understand that many of those viewing and joining these sites are warn-down, stressed and busy professionals who would like to meet others of the same nature. "It's ok to look." People are now beginning to see online dating as a real solution to their lonely lives. With the click of a buttton, dating happens online: One now has the opportunity to take time out of work to surf the net for hot chicks...I mean prospects...I mean, I don't know what to call them. I guess you could see this as a glorified version of surfing Facebook during class. (You should be listening, but HEY, life is more interesting/important.)
10 comments:
You could get some stats as to how many people actually stay together and get married?
I can definitely relate to being in my junior high years and exploring AOL chat rooms. I would lie about my age and appearance (tall blond and voluptuous) just to get a laugh. I actually have some friends who are dating people they met over the internet. A Jewish internet dating service called J-Date (I think). Anyways, I think that I could be interesting if you have any friends that are dating or have dated someone they met over the internet, if you interviewed them.
First looking at your post, I saw the match.com . I really just wanted to click on it to see what kinds of things you get asked or what kinds of people you find. I really like where this is going and how I can relate to some of this internet crazy in my life.
I like the different points of view and the writing style. It would be interesting to get some statistics on the rise and fall of the usage of these websites as well as of the internet- related crimes.
Online dating services are really interesting to me because whenever I see the commercials, I always think "who does that actually work out for?". However, I know that some people actually really benefit from these types of things. Maybe find out the types of people who go to the sites, or the stats involving marriages and divorces from online dating.
Online dating is a great thing to explore with the topic of love and courtship because it is such a new development in the world of getting to know someone. I remember the days of instant messenger, talking to some new boy who described himself as such a stud, only to find out later that he wasn't all he was cracked up to be. This presents some interesting questions and I'm excited to see what you find.
I can't say that I've ever tried online dating but the reasons you gave seemed very plausible. I think it'd be interesting to see the success rate of these online dating services as well as some sort of statistical layout of the users by age and marital status. Just an idea. I like this subject. It's a very big thing in modern dating.
I like this topic because it is very
"now." I have many friends that I have met over the internet and it is amazing how relationships can be sustained with this method of communication.
I've always wondered how match.com or eharmony worked. Hopefully its a step above the chat room creeps...a/s/l?
This is a really intersting topic and I'm interested to watch how it progresses. I would also be really curious to see stats on how successful it is...or what age do people start using it?
Post a Comment