Recently I've noticed how distant our generation is from one another due to the decrease in actual face-to-face communication. First came cell phones, then texting, and now it has evolved to the point online dating has become a factor for our generation. Some would rather make an account on a dating site than actually go out and meet new people.

Now, the real question is: is this a good thing or not? If you ask me it could go either way, depending on the individual situation. However, from my personal experience, I would say that I have had a few negative and positive experiences. Though I must say the worst part of online dating was never truly know who is on the other side of the screen. Honestly, you could be talking to anyone unless you’re careful enough and take proper precautions.

I had my first face-to-face encounter with someone I met online at the age of 18. I was very worried about whether or not the guy in the car was going to match the guy on the screen. At the time I was very naïve and would not think twice about having him just come pick me up from my home address. Looking back now, I know that was a poor decision on my part but no one ever really taught me better as I came from a very sheltered household. I remember nervously walking down my driveway to the car looking all around analyzing his silhouette still unsure of whether or not the guy sitting in the passengers seat would be who I was expecting. However, to my surprise the face matched the screen. I often wonder what if the guy wasn’t the face behind the screen? What if this would have been a fifty year old man trying to abduct and kill me? I would have led him straight to my home and no one would have known. The more I thought about it the more I realized how dangerous this new trend is, with websites like Tinder and Plenty of Fish becoming more and more popular among our generation.

Though I have made a few lifelong friends and even a few enemies off these sites I still believe the risk may still be greater than the benefit. A lot of individuals who are still in high school are creating accounts and giving out personal information as well as lying to their parents about who they’re hanging out with. This leads to many potential dangers. I believe that our generation should try to integrate more face-to-face contact into our daily lives as opposed to just using the Internet as our only form of communication. As well as actually going out and meeting people versus using dating accounts to find a match and putting themselves in danger of being cat fished or even worse.