It is largely understandable that many people remain skeptical about the ultimate effectiveness of online dating. After all, it is only fairly recently that the process has been accepted as part of the social mainstream. One notorious line in the film Cruel Intentions refers to the email format as the last bastion of “social recluses,” and numerous other media have lampooned the process of online dating at one time or another.
Needless to say, times have changed, and opinions on this subject have shifted dramatically. An ever-increasing number of Americans—and people the world over, for that matter—are beginning to view online dating as a legitimate option for romantic success. Part of this is due to the proliferation of internet access in the world today. A study by journalism.org reports that nearly 70 percent of Americans today utilize the internet in some facet. In terms of pure numbers, approximately 137 million Americans reported going online with some frequency during the last year. Of this vast sum, an increasing percentage has turned to the speed and reliability of broadband internet connections versus dial-up, thus streamlining and making more effective their time online.
What this means is that, while the number of people going online has plateaued in recent years, those that are connecting are spending more and more time online. Additionally, a greater number of people are using the internet to take care of their business in life. This increased reliance on the internet coupled with the large number of people connecting online has played a huge role in affecting people’s views of services such as online dating. Television and radio advertisements tout the ability of “serious” online dating sites and their respective personality profiles to effectively pair you up with a serious romantic interest. A steady stream of married couples point to one site or another as a primary reason for their relationship’s success.
It’s not in our nature to rely solely on advertisements to form our opinions, however, and ere you place too much stock in the trumpeting of one site or another, it is recommended that you look first to a closer, more reliable source. The large numbers of people both using the internet regularly and frequenting online dating services means that somebody in your life has probably had an experience or two that they can share with you. Perhaps a neighbor met their current spouse via an online service. Maybe a co-worker hooked up with a casual romantic fling in an internet chat room. Regardless of what form it takes, if you take the time to look around and ask a couple of questions, you are likely to find some feedback in regards to the reliability and success of online dating.
Online dating has continued to grow and evolve with the increased popularity of the internet. No matter what type of relationship you hope to find, chances are good that you will be able to find a potential romantic match online; the numbers are too vast to expect otherwise. No longer a maligned fringe affair, online dating has become a viable romantic avenue for today’s singles.