The truth about our dependence on technology and our social bubble, is that it keeps us from connecting romantically in person.
Online dating is a part of our culture and we shouldn’t condemn people who use it.
According to a report from the Pew Research Center, the percentage of 18 to 24 year-olds who use online dating apps increased from 10 percent in 2013 to 27 percent in 2016.
I’m a hopeless romantic who hopes to one day bump into the perfect stranger.
I hope to find my so-called “perfect man” by a happy coincidence.
At the same time, I don’t want to be approached by a random suitor at school, at a coffee shop or while I’m out with my friends.
My initial idea was to meet someone by chance but then I realized it was time to try something new.
Before trying Tinder, I did not understand the whole concept of meeting a potential lover online. It wasn’t until a year ago that while having a girl’s night in, my friend and I thought it would be fun to create Tinder accounts.
Whereas before, I would’ve never tried online dating, my curiosity motivated me to do so. As the cliche goes, “you can’t knock it, till you try it.”
Statistics from the dating site eHarmony report that only 9 percent of women and 2 percent of men form relationships with partners met at a bar or club.
The site also stated that 20 percent of committed relationships and that 7 percent of marriages in 2015 originated from couples meeting on a dating site.
When I used Tinder, I ended up matching with a sweet guy and the situation ended as a great experience. I was able to interact with someone outside my inner circle.
Although it was an amazing experience for me, I was still ashamed to tell my friends how I met this man.
While the thought of using a mobile dating app is taboo to some, people have used similar mediums within media to find partners for centuries.
According to a PBS infographic, the first personal ads placed in newspapers by bachelors seeking wives appeared in Britain as early as 1685.
These ads were often treated like commercial transactions rather than emotional matchmaking.
This was evidenced by an ad placed by a man who, “would willingly match himself to some good young gentlewoman that has a fortune of £3000 or thereabout, and he will make a settlement to content.”
What prevents many people from trying online dating is the substantiated fear that comes with meeting a total stranger online.
With cases, such as the “Craigslist Killer” Philip Markoff, justifies the aforementioned fears, meeting a person face to face presents dangers too.
In December 2018, I met someone through mutual friends and thought I would never run into this person again. I was surely mistaken.
Two weeks ago, I was at a bar and ran into the same man, despite me not wanting to associate with him anymore. It was one of those nights I wish I could erase from my memory.
This individual was persistent in asking me to dance with him, but I denied him every time. Afterward, he even messaged me on social media.
Strange people are everywhere. The point is you always have to be cautious of who you meet.
My friends and I would always talk about meeting people the “old fashioned way” as opposed to using apps like Tinder or Bumble.
However, the issue my friends and I face is that the boys who come up to us in person are too abrasive, so we shut them down because we don’t have time to be bothered.
We’re trapped as a society in this social media bubble of our own clicks, our online habits and routines.
There’s comfort in knowing that no matter how bad things work out online, we can always go home and vent to our friends or tweet about how we’re single because we haven’t met the right person yet.
An in-person blind date entails a physical risk, but dating apps give us a sense of control in who we interact with from our own home.
While I don’t deny the possibility that I may very well one day meet a loving partner in person, it was important for me to try online dating.
We need to accept that online dating is the new norm and that meeting people out in the open doesn’t always work.
