Love in the 21st Century: The Proliferation of Online Dating

For a variety of reasons, singles are the fastest growing population group in North America. The challenge for many singles today is where to meet that “special someone”. From my own experience, it seems like almost every person who is in a relationship (married or dating) has an opinion on where you need to go to meet the “person of your dreams”. Locations such as the grocery store, gym, and library have been suggested to me as the “places to go”. Ironically, none of these people offering the advice have ever seen it work firsthand. They always seem to know someone who knew someone who heard of someone who had met someone in this environment. Take the grocery store example. I’ve been grocery shopping more than a couple of times now, and honestly have never felt that it was the hotbed for love. For many of us, the location that allows us to get to know each other the best is work. When you spend 8 hours a day in the same location, you’re likely to form strong bonds with people. Unfortunately, dipping your pen in the company ink has never been supported as a great idea from a career perspective, as the adverse effects can be severe.

With today’s available technology, many people are turning to the Internet. Statistics show that an increasing number of people are engaging in online dating, as evidenced by the proliferation of online dating sites, such as Lavalife, Eharmony, Plenty of Fish, etc.
This social avenue works for many people. They prefer online dating to the club scene because of the lack of pressure and competition. In addition, the club scene has many distractions that prevent people from really getting to know each other. These distractions are virtually eliminated online.

Plus, there are many sites that will match you with someone who fits your ideal mate. This saves a lot of time, as it may take weeks or months to really get to know someone through traditional dating methods. Even Dr. Phil is getting on board, with his support of Match.com. If Dr. Phil says it’s right, how can it be wrong?