We all have seen those obnoxious ads for online dating. You know, the ones where the unreasonably attractive woman complains about how she has trouble finding a date. Well those sites, which promise to only match you with compatible partners, have created a public frenzy.
Sure, many of our peers meet people and find significant others on Facebook and other social media sites, but how many of us register on sites that are specifically designed for online dating? People as young as 18 years old to senior citizens utilize online dating websites.
Statistics from Statistic Brain show that 40 million Americans have tried online dating; at age 26, a woman has more online pursuers than men, and by age 48, men have twice as many online pursuers as women. The most intriguing statistic listed is that the annual revenue the online dating industry generates is approximately $1.05 billion.
If people are willing to make the investment into online dating sites, what are the advantages that come with the venture? According to ChristianMingle.com, “You have convenient access to the dating world via your computer 24/7, 365 days a year in a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere… There is the ability to be anonymous to the single respondent until you feel secure enough to meet them face-to-face.”
There we have it: Online dating is a way to hide insecurities and still feel comfortable dating. It allows people the extra opportunities to meet people as well as granting them the freedom to relax in privacy.
The common perception is that the profiles on these online dating sites are phony, or that the person cannot handle meeting a potential partner in public.
The worst scenario being that the person must be crazy or seriously disturbed on the other side of the computer if the profile is real. Does anyone recall the episode of “The Boondocks,” when Granddad is plagued by a gorgeous, super- crazy, kung fu lady raised by wolves? The reality TV show “Catfish” doesn’t help matters either.
Does online dating really have any disadvantages that actual dating doesn’t? We all get burned along the way, which isn’t as bad as it may seem. Yes, people get “cat fished”, but cases like that are rare, though nobody wants to be taken advantage of like that.
Our interactions with each other often do form romantic partnerships. A study by Michael J. Rosenfeld, which appeared in The New York Times, states that “in the United States between 2007 and 2009, 21 percent of heterosexual couples and 61 percent of same-sex couples met online.” A surprising statistic, since a majority of the online dating ads don’t advertise same-sex profiles.
Personally, I have met people online via social sites as well as in person. There is nothing out there that prevents us from finding somebody special right under our noses.
But I can find nothing wrong with online dating. It can seem safer and promising and logging onto a website to chat with potential suitors can be a lot of fun too. This is not a discouraging message to online daters to log off from dating profiles but rather for online daters to log into life.
Brandon White, Junior
Communication Major
