Online Dating and Mating

Let’s be Honest! We’ve all done some sort of online dating or are in the process of finding our match. Some of us are looking for one-night stand, some are looking for relationship, and others are just doing it for fun. Obviously, everybody has their own reasons to why they turn themselves to online dating, but most people have given up on the idea of meeting their partner offline. Why so? Are we more open about our feelings when we have text-base conversations or it is just convenient?

I’ve learned some interesting facts from Online Dating and Mating: The use of the Internet to Meet Sexual Partners by Danielle Couch. First of all, I want to say that meeting people online has started around 1960s with simple questioners about personality, and interests in finding a match (Couch 2008:268). Today, we use so many web sites and apps in finding our match, but instead of answering personality questions we determine our tastes through profile info and pictures.

However, I want to discuss what’s really important in this matter and that is varies reasons to why so many people have used online dating. According to research that has been conducted in Australia, people find different reasons to why they do online dating. Some of them are for purely for sex. I mean if you go to bar and ask some stranger, “Do you want to have sex?”, you might not get the best reaction from that person. Let me tell you something mind blowing (well at least it was for me). This women, from the research, has used online dating for two and a half years has met 260 people and had sex with only 258 (Couch 2008:275). WHAT!!! That number for me is crazy because I personally never used online dating that much and never even found decent through online dating (part of the reason is because I didn’t really try). However, if you think there isn’t anybody good for you or worthy of you, think about it again.

Aside for looking for partners for sex, there are other reasons to why some people go through online dating. Consider this fact! A lot of people these days are busy with their lives. College students mostly are taking so many classes that they don’t have time go out as much. Some of us have part-time or full-time jobs that consume most of our time. Additionally, we have to write those 10 page papers that sometimes are done in an hour (I know I’ve pulled it before). After all these, how can anybody have time or not be exhausted from working and studying? If you’re one of those people that still manage to go out at night and meet people…I applaud you.

Obviously, there are people who really are looking forwards to meeting people and connecting with them. However, online dating has its ups and downs. So many people today fake their profile pictures or their information that it is hard to trust people and not being fooled. However, from the research interviews some people have said that it is easy to detect who is faking their information and who is not. There is always this fear that you connect with somebody and then meeting offline could end up in the disaster.

I want to end this blog with something important. If you’ve never tried online dating get your feet wet at least once. Go and see what it has to offer. If you are a shy person, as many of us are, there is nothing wrong in using online dating.

To the people who fake their information on their profile info: Be true to yourself and others.

To the people who’ve used and are using it: I don’t have much to say to you actually.