There is No Real Difference Between Online Dating and ‘Real-Life’ Dating
A Pew Research study explains how users of online dating websites use other networks to research potential dates. By using Craiglist’s Missed Connections page, a female sought out a male she went on a date with and could not find on Facebook. Eventually she did not find him but ended up meeting another guy due to that post. Facebook, according to the study, aids users to look up matches from other dating sites and get more information about them. Dating websites have noticed this trend and now include a messaging system for matches, enabling users to keep in contact with others. This system allows privacy, whereas social sites such as Facebook allow a fully or semi-public access to others profile, potentially causing a disruption in private or professional lives. The use of multiple online sites or apps on phones allow seeking mates to constantly keep track of those they are pursuing.
Why Online Dating Became So PopulaR
Online dating started in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, where internet usage was still fresh and exciting. Online dating, then, was seen for only desperate people who could not find a partner in the “real world”. Sites such as AOL were used to connect to those whom may have a common interest. More than ten years later, online dating has rose in popularity and being used to find more than just another desperate mate, but to find friends, hook-ups, or a long-term companion. A factor which makes online dating appealing is the fact that you can pre-screen most people on other sites. It is uncomfortable to ask questions most dating sites ask in person, the first time meeting someone. Also, the daily use of internet has increased over these ten years, from about thirty minutes to four hours. The internet has made dating easier and woven into our daily lives.
Online dating: past, present, future
Creating an online dating website has a one percent success rate. This percentage can seem surprising due to how many dating websites are out there and the increased popularity of it. The problem with having an endless variety of dating websites is that direct competition is huge, meaning there is little room for creativity for a creator. Also, the cost of getting your brand out there include high costs for allowing social networks to market your brand. Original algorithms are a concern as well. Most dating websites use a matching algorithm, but there is only so much inform to request from users that really stand out. With the new rise of “what will be the new search engine”, there are already prototypes involving image features to search cyberspace for ideal partners. These factors make it difficult for new dating website creators to be different from the others, unless you created Herpes-Date.com.
By: Jessalyn Norton