It’s 2016, and yet we have a stigma against online dating. The internet has been around for decades, and dating has been around for centuries. So why does it surprise people that the two have formed a relationship?
Almost every facet of our lives is online now: communicating with others, buying clothes, ordering food, filing taxes, registering to vote, getting a job, streaming movies, and so on. But online dating is still considered by many as an unnatural way to find a partner. The problem is that many people assume online dating is two awkward people stowed away in their bedroom behind a computer without ever meeting. That common image can surely turn people away from signing up because 1) they don’t want a relationship behind a screen and 2) they don’t want to be in contact with that kind of person. In which case I can almost understand the stigma against online dating.
But online dating isn’t meant to replace face-to-face human interaction. It’s rather a means of connecting you to other compatible singles that you might want to meet in person. Really, online dating should be called online meeting, because the dating is supposed to happen in real life, not virtually. And the people you find on these sites vary so much, you really can’t go wrong. There are thousands of specialty dating sites for the kind of person you find attractive and interesting. From gamers to bookworms, businesspeople to farmers, marriage seekers to casual hookups; there’s pretty much a dating site for everyone.
The other great thing about online dating is that you always get to lead with your best foot forward. There’s nothing cute about trying to talk to the guy across the bar while you’re suffering an acne flare-up and are half sloshed. But on dating websites, you decide what pictures of you are shown, what traits you disclose, and what your interests are. You can tailor the first impression you give to every match. Now I’m not saying to lie about who you are, I’m just saying it feels good to go into your first date with a potential partner, knowing they already have knowledge of your extroverted nature and passion for hiking. You don’t have to dig for conversation because you both have a general idea of who the other person is.
I myself date online, and have had many genuinely kind-hearted people come into my life because of it. For me, online dating is a way to find men who are more compatible with my busy lifestyle and high-aiming ambitions. Online dating has led me to new men who share my drive and ambition, like the one I’m seeing now. He’s pretty great and I have no shame in telling people we met on online.
I’m not trying to encourage you all to quit your Friday night escapades to find Mr. or Ms. Right, because plenty of people do find their future spouse the old fashioned way, even today in our computer-driven society. But I do want to try and broaden your horizons of what’s out there. There are over seven billion people on this planet. Why settle for just the few singles around you? Next time someone tells you they met their partner online, don’t get weirded out; just congratulate them for finding each other. Because in retrospect, dating as a whole is a really weird and awkward endeavor. So let’s just be weird together.
