Online Dating Versus Traditional Dating

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ANSWER

Online Dating Versus Traditional Dating

Technological advancements have greatly changed human interactions, and thus the dating scene has also been impacted by online dating. According to Hobbs et al. (2017), a digital revolution is underway in regard to courtship and modern romance. Unlike the previous generations, today’s generation has a variety of endless potential sexual and romantic partners thanks to social networks. Social media has replaced the role of traditional matchmakers as the young generation of adults depends on platforms such as tinder to create the best possible matches for them. Traditionally people depended on their friends, relatives, schools and churches to help them find partners. In the world today, the young generation is dependent on the social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and dating platforms such as tinder to help them acquire partners. The dating scene has greatly changed, and young people now rely on social networks to get romantic and sexual partners. This has, however, contributed to the high number of failed marriages and divorces as people are rushing to date and get married without understanding each other.

In traditional dating, people rely on first impressions and what is attractive to the eye. First impressions depend on hobbies, career, and age in online dating. However, these factors can be fake in online dating and can lead to fraudulent activity, and people can end up getting hurt (Ranzini & Lutz, 2017). Online dating using the dating applications heavily relies on people talking online. This has posed a great challenge recently, with people catfishing each other and others being conned through online platforms. The latest scandal involving online e dating was when a man stole a lot of money from women and used it to make himself look rich and attract women from the platforms looking for men who have money.

A film has been made out of the women’s experience, with most of them losing thousands to the tinder swindler. Dating sites and social networks are similar as they aim to foster connections between the user and in how they affect their priorities to their self-presentation. Dating online can be an extreme sport, with young people dating multiple people at the same time (Sumter et al., 2017). This is, however, not possible in traditional dating as it can be hard to date multiple people physically.

Unlike traditional dating, where one cannot hide their character for a long time, online dating has an element of deception as one cannot tell the difference between a fake or a real person. This has been enabled by the fact that dating online is wholly dependent on sending pictures and videos. It is easy for a person to Photoshop and use fake pictures to deceive their partner about their appearance. This is common on dating profiles. People who have issues with their self-esteem use a false picture of themselves to attract more suitors (Huber & Malhotra, 2017). In traditional dating, what one sees is what they get. In traditional dating, people meet and start conversations physically and decide whether they want the person or not. In online dating, people talk online first and then meet. This gas led to many people being disappointed as the person they were talking with online turned out to be different when they met physically.

According to the study conducted by Marganski &Melander (2018), occurrences of intimate partner violence are not rare in online dating. There have been cases where women have found themselves involved with a violent partner and ended up getting hurt. Some women have given testimonies of how they met a man from a dating platform, and he attempted to rape them or ended up being disrespectful and acting violently towards them. While these cases also happen in traditional dating, they are rare. This is because, in traditional dating, there is a lot of vetting that goes on before people eventually decide to go on a date. In traditional dating, people first know each other and meet several times in public places before going for an intimate evening. This helps eliminate the chances of being caught in a situation where the partner is violent or tries to rape them. It also gives the people a chance to back out of the date if they do not feel safe with the partner.

Online dating has also become popular because young people feel that dating in the current world has become more tedious. People spending more time on their phones than on social gatherings is the only place they can find partners. According to the study by Sumter et al. (2017), not all the adults on tinder are looking for a one time hook up. Some of them are looking for life-long relationships and soulmates, although that can be tedious and hard. The problem with online dating is that many adults are dating multiple partners making it hard to get anything serious. The adults who are not looking for a serious relationship opt for online dating as it is more mechanical, and there are fewer feelings involved. This has made it especially difficult for those who are looking for something serious, with some opting to go back to the traditional dating methods where they ask their families and friends to help them find a match.

Traditional dating involves meeting the person face to face and building a bond through continual interaction. This means that there are fewer chances of deception in traditional dating as the person cannot fake their real face. In traditional dating, one can hide their character fur a short time, but their real character eventually shows up. This means that it is hard for one to end up with the wrong person if they opt for the traditional dating option. However, this option is also not perfect as young people today end up rushing matters. This has led to many failed marriages as they do not take time to know each other and understand each other to the extent of getting married. However, this is the safer type of dating as it is more physical, and thus, there is less deception.

The dating scene is no longer what it used to be. Young people have revolutionized it with online dating and having multiple sexual partners. This has affected the relationship dynamic with many people getting hurt and the seriousness that used to be in relationships being taken lightly. Most young people have opted for casual flings without any emotions involved. This is what has motivated most of them to date online. However, this attitude has made it harder for those genuinely looking to find serious and committed relationships. Traditional dating is safer than the current online dating scene, and those looking for serious relationships opt for traditional dating.

References

Hobbs, M., Owen, S., & Gerber, L. (2017). Liquid love? Dating apps, sex, relationships, and the digital transformation of intimacy. Journal of Sociology, 53(2), 271-284. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783316662718

Huber, G. A., & Malhotra, N. (2017). Political homophily in social relationships: Evidence from online dating behaviour. The Journal of Politics, 79(1), 269-283. https://doi.org/10.1086/687533

Marganski, A., & Melander, L. (2018). Intimate partner violence victimization in the cyber and real world: Examining the extent of cyber aggression experiences and its association with in-person dating violence. Journal of interpersonal violence, 33(7), 1071-1095. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515614283

Ranzini, G., & Lutz, C. (2017). Love at first swipe? Explaining Tinder self-presentation and motives. Mobile Media & Communication, 5(1), 80-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157916664559

Sumter, S. R., Vandenbosch, L., & Ligtenberg, L. (2017). Love me Tinder: Untangling emerging adults’ motivations for using the dating application Tinder. Telematics and informatics, 34(1), 67-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.04.009