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Introduction
Online dating is a complete system that allows individuals, couples and groups meet their soul mates by helping them communicate. These dating systems provide unmediated matchmaking way to help people find the right person. These acquaintances are generally for personal, sexual and lifetime relationships. (Mashable)
Online dating systems require the person to input their personal information and likes and dislikes. People are asked for specifications like the gender, age, location, education, occupation, etc. these online dating websites then provide the member will potential people with similar interests. This way people are brought closer and given a chance to communicate and make things work for the better. Different websites offer different platforms for communication like webcasts, online chats, video chats, telephone chats, and through message boards. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
However, there is a huge debate on whether online dating is ethical or not? There is a debate on the benefits and consequences of online dating. I support that internet dating has more drawbacks than benefits. People may call me old school but I still believe that a date should be face to face with the personal emotions and feelings attached. Online dating has its pros, but nothing comes close to the feeling of meeting someone new for the first time face to face. Face to face, communication eliminates the chances of misunderstanding. People can determine more quickly if they have any chemistry with the person in front or not. There may not be peer pressure on the first meeting as it may be just a causal get together with friends in a group. There are several benefits of offline dating that a person cannot achieve through online dating.
Counter Arguments
Many people favor the online dating systems. It seems reasonable in this age of fast communication and less time. Even though we have machines for almost all our work, people still somehow have lesser time and are always busy with something. Online dating offers them the best solution to find someone with similar interests. It provides a shortcut through the scrutiny process. People prefer online dating systems because of the various tools they provide for finding you the perfect match. These websites may even mail you potential matches for making the whole process. However, the problem here is that majority of the members limit their profile’s search criteria. They increase the privacy setting on their profiles. This way their profiles do not pop up in every other mail account. This action limits their chances of meeting a potential match. (Spira)
Online dating is considered safer and less humiliating if things do not work out. It seems that it is easier to accept humiliation from behind the screen rather than in person. In online dating people can upload the best picture of them and let the picture do this charm. Even though there is more pressure on looks in face-to-face communication, the results come out faster. You instantly know whether you are attracted to a person or not. With online dating, you will have to wait a few weeks until you have a real live video chat to see the person for real.
Online Dating: Not to Do
Online dating is being performed through social networking sites, as well as specially dedicated websites made for this purpose. However, the more and more it gains popularity, the more of a risk it is becoming.
People have always been cautious of their looks and age. Online dating provides them with an easy way out. It provides them to either lie about their ages and looks or hide them till an appropriate time. The internet is the hub of identity theft. These websites are a great example of how a person can imitate to be another person and fool someone. This may waste the time and effort of the person trying to find the perfect match. (Donovan)
Online dating may seem good for people who are shy and do not feel comfortable around strangers. However, it makes the person un-social. Online dating involves only pointing and clicking. There is no real connection, no chemistry, and no goose bumps. People do not feel the adrenaline rush in online dating. People do not have the gut wrenching and stomach curling feeling in an online relationship. Online dating has robbed people of these beautiful sensations that can only be experienced through offline dating done face to face.
With the increase in cyber crime, online dating sites are also a high threat crime. People with unwanted intentions may engage you in conversations and get you to reveal your personal information like bank details and address. With online dating, you can never be completely sure of the person on the other side. The trust level is reduced and it affects the relationship overall. There is always a chance of the other person being a criminal who just wants to take some sort of advantage.
Online dating is the perfect example of how internet has changed the way the society communicates. These online dating tools have made relationships into a consumer product. People no longer have to deal with un-spontaneous emotions and feelings. Everything is calculated and according to the customer. The customer’s match is 100% according to the requirements. The extent of emotionless relationships through online dating can be understood by the use of symbols and letters to depict emotions, for example, LOL, <3, etc. (Walters)
Conclusion
In conclusion, I side with the old-fashioned way of trial and error offline dating. Online dating may be the accepted norm nowadays, but the charm of a new relationship can only be experienced through real communication. Internet dating is too fast with no breaks and pauses. It is against the natural relationship building process.
Online dating is a lengthy and systematic process that calculates each aspect of two person’s profiles. Love, on the other hand, cannot be calculated. There is no rule against falling in love with a person with dissimilar interests. The magic can happen with anyone, anytime. Online dating reduces the chances of those magical relationships.
There is no point in wasting your time as well as your membership fees over something that has a lesser chance of being successful. People tend to forget about rejections the second they turn off their computers in an online relationship. They are meaningless and emotionless. Trying to get a date in the normal, offline way can be more fun, and satisfying. Even then, if the date does not work out, you still had a meal and an unforgettable experience of a date. Nothing can take that away from you.
Works Cited
Donovan, Brian . Not a Match: My True Tales of Online Dating Disasters. Brooklyn: VOOK, 2012. Print.
Mashable. "Online Dating." Mashable. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://mashable.com/category/online-dating/>.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "A Workshop on Online Dating ." Massachusetts Institute of Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://smg.media.mit.edu/personals/chi2004/private/kronthal.pdf>.
Spira, Julie. "Online Dating Vs. Offline Dating: Pros and Cons." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-spira/online-dating-vs-offline-_b_4037867.html>.
Walters, John. "Online dating is eroding humanity." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 25 July 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/25/online-dating-love-product>.
