It’s Okay To Date Online
When I was little, the notion of online dating was one of pity. There was a stigma attached to it. Finding out someone had to resort to the internet to find a date or relationship somehow meant a dysfunction in their ability to court others in a “normal” social setting. It was surely something people didn’t want to admit.
Nowadays, online dating appears to be generally accepted and is seen as a more efficient way to find a partner. Rufus Griscom wrote a piece for Wired titled “Why Are Online Personals So Hot?” back in 2002. The article begins, “Twenty years from now, the idea that someone looking for love won’t look for it online will be silly, akin to skipping the card catalog to instead wander the stacks because the right books are found only by accident.”
Not the most romantic notion in the world, but in less time than originally predicted, it seems that the analogy now sticks. Why the change in public opinion? Maybe it’s the cynical disposition of millennials. Maybe we just want to avoid failure.
When one considers the exorbitant prices the wedding industry pressures onto young couples and how costly divorce can be, to most hard working citizens, it would make sense that millennials would want to be more cautious and choose more wisely when it comes to relationships.
With the technology to help singles play the field in a much broader scope than ever before and empowering people to sift through the “going-nowhere” first dates and hopeless scrubs, the perspective of a millennial towards online dating seems to now be, “Sure, I’ll give that a go.”
There will be some who view this type of outlook and deem those who partake in online dating culture as shallow, only using it to engage in frivolous hookups. I would say online dating can relieve those fearful of jumping into the dating pool, because you get to have a say in regards to the types of people you choose to date and spend time with.
The baggage around online dating is gradually being shed in the public’s eye. You will still find those that will tell you that online dating equates to picking out your dates from a menu. But, if you think about it, millennials have found their own way in the changing times. Browsing for and finding the right match,.. a solid, well defined match. What’s more hot or romantic than that? It could lead to even more down the line.
To be honest, there’s a decent chunk of my brain that wants to believe in the cutesy, movie romance sold in those old John Hughes films of my youth. But those films aren’t going to help me out of a bad first date (unless I decide to mentally play the films quietly in mind while ignoring the other person). And those movies certainly won’t help me out of a bad divorce. No, I think millennials have the right idea. They’ve moved on from the old fashioned “meet-cute” tropes of Hollywood to a more the practical and realistic sensibility.
What are your thoughts on the stigmas of online dating? Do you think the tech has killed the romance? Let us know below.