Online dating, which used to be rare and a social faux pas, has become commonplace in our society.
Dating websites and mobile apps like OkCupid, Tinder, and Plenty of Fish are used by a quarter of Canadians, according to Maclean’s.
In fact, the Maclean’s article found anywhere between 30 and 40 million North Americans are using dating sites or apps to find a date.
But the stigma surrounding finding your true love—or casual hookup—online still exists from dating purists who believe in a more traditional way of meeting your mate.
It’s so pervasive that when creating Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg said he specifically wanted to avoid making Facebook seem like a dating site, according to Maclean’s.
What critics fail to see is that while online dating starts off as a virtual encounter, it rarely ends that way.
People use these sites and apps as a jumping off point to make the initial connection—a tough thing for people who are shy or don’t have a far-reaching social circle.
Online dating replaces the coffee shop encounters, not the date. In the same way that ordering a pizza online still manifests a pizza in your house, starting a relationship online ends in a real face-to-face date.
It’s just a different means to the same end.
We need to realize that the online world is a part of our lives now. It’s not a parallel stream to the ‘real world,’ but one that overlaps in many areas, dating included.
Getting off the dating high horse and embracing a new way of making connections should be applauded, not feared.
