Removing the Stigma of Online Dating
Running head: REMOVING THE STIGMA OF ONLINE DATING
Removing the Stigma of Online Dating
Information Technology in Society CSOC 880-1 Online dating as a form of social networking has become a commonplace and acceptable method of meeting potential partners. Until recently, individuals who met dates online were viewed by society as desperate, social misfits. Traditional dating methods include meeting people through friends, face-to-face encounters, at bars or work. More recently, sites such as Lavalife, Zoosk, Facebook, E-Harmony and Plenty of Fish enable individuals to connect with the potential to develop different types of relationships if desired. This paper will discuss how online dating enables people to reach a much more global market and encourages participants to express a higher level of comfort and honesty in communicating. It will further support the use of online dating sites as a safer, faster and more preferable way for people to meet than former traditional dating methods.
“Online dating or Internet dating is a dating system which allows individuals, couples and groups to make contact and communicate with each other over the Internet, usually with the objective a personal romantic or sexual relationship” (Wikipedia p.1, 2010). The days of meeting your love partner by fate are gone. Potential love or lust seekers can search throughout the globe on the internet to select from a larger herd of cattle. This is a far larger group than most individuals will ever meet in person. To illustrate, 77 percent of adults in Canada are internet users, 90 percent of 18-29 year olds use the internet and Facebook currently clocked in at more than 350 million active users (Foster, Francescucci, & West, 2010). This portrays just how popular social networking has become in society. “The U.S. online dating market is expected to increase spending to $932 million in 2011” (Wikipedia p.2, 2010). There are unlimited choices and an increased possibility of
Removing the Stigma of Online Dating
Information Technology in Society CSOC 880-1 Online dating as a form of social networking has become a commonplace and acceptable method of meeting potential partners. Until recently, individuals who met dates online were viewed by society as desperate, social misfits. Traditional dating methods include meeting people through friends, face-to-face encounters, at bars or work. More recently, sites such as Lavalife, Zoosk, Facebook, E-Harmony and Plenty of Fish enable individuals to connect with the potential to develop different types of relationships if desired. This paper will discuss how online dating enables people to reach a much more global market and encourages participants to express a higher level of comfort and honesty in communicating. It will further support the use of online dating sites as a safer, faster and more preferable way for people to meet than former traditional dating methods.
“Online dating or Internet dating is a dating system which allows individuals, couples and groups to make contact and communicate with each other over the Internet, usually with the objective a personal romantic or sexual relationship” (Wikipedia p.1, 2010). The days of meeting your love partner by fate are gone. Potential love or lust seekers can search throughout the globe on the internet to select from a larger herd of cattle. This is a far larger group than most individuals will ever meet in person. To illustrate, 77 percent of adults in Canada are internet users, 90 percent of 18-29 year olds use the internet and Facebook currently clocked in at more than 350 million active users (Foster, Francescucci, & West, 2010). This portrays just how popular social networking has become in society. “The U.S. online dating market is expected to increase spending to $932 million in 2011” (Wikipedia p.2, 2010). There are unlimited choices and an increased possibility of