Online Dating Pros and Cons
- DIG 4552
- Apr 8
- 4 min read
By Ashanti Germosen
Are you “Hinged” on to your partner? Have you lit the flame with your “match”?
In all seriousness, we have entered a digital dating scene with the rise of dating apps like
Hinge, Tinder, Bumble, and even on social media like Facebook dating, but is online dating
the way to go? The internet has been integrated into many aspects of our daily lives, so it
only makes sense for it to find its way into our love lives, but how beneficial is online
dating?
PROS
Online dating is a modern innovation as it fits into our lifestyle that revolves around the
internet. It is something that you actively decide to do. You can be on one app or multiple
apps scrolling for hours (assuming you are lucky enough). In our everyday lives, we are
limited by our options and are more likely to date people in our proximity because we see
them all the time (Exposure ENect). The inflated options online end up motivating us to
seek someone ideal rather than liking someone more because we spend time with them.
The dating experience online is a curated one. In general people’s online presence is
often the best of what they have to oNer, and this is a two-way street. On one end you get to
select who you think is a good match based on their selection of pictures, mini bio,
generated prompts, and description tags like “animal lover” or “gym rat”. These features
work so that you can decide quickly and eNiciently if someone is right for you. On the other
end, you have control of how people online see you. You get to generate the best version of
yourself which makes for a very controlled dating experience.
Being that dating online is a controlled experience for both parties you get to determine
the pace. In all relationships you should mutually determine the pace at which it
progresses, however, with meeting online you get to determine diNerent milestones. That
may look like exchanging social media exchanging phone numbers, calling, facetiming, and
then planning a date. This low-pressure situation allows you the flexibility to date according
to how what makes you comfortable as opposed to meeting someone in person which
forces you to react to them in real time. Another benefit to this is that in the meantime you
can play detective and look for background information on your potential lover (assuming
you aren’t being catfished).
CONS
Being catfished, defined as someone lying about who they say they are online,
popularized by the MTV show “Catfished”. Being catfished is a very possible reality when
you decide to date someone online. Although it is very avoidable by requesting to video
chat and asking for proof of status (ex. student/work ID). The act of being catfished
highlights how easy it is to lie online. This is because there is no external pressure to be
honest, similar to why people cyber bully. The internet is not a real place and so there is no
obligation to be moral.
The bountiful options accessible by the internet make this dating experience especially
unique, however, this can be the most detrimental part for several reasons. One is that the
almost endless options make you search for the “ideal” partner, which sets unrealistic
expectations (NOTE: having standards in good and IMPORTANT however unrealistic
expectations may lead to disappointment). Another is the competitive aspect of dating.
When you are put in such a large pool and your expectations are not being met it may lower
your self-esteem. This is because you may not be matching with the people you would like
to match with and because of this, you may feel that there is an issue with you.
The worst possibility of them all is harassment. The internet is unhinged and has no
obligation to moral because of this there are many dangers to meeting people online. One-
fourth of women and one-tenth of men have had an unwanted sexual experience from
online dating. Due to the frequency in which online harassment occurs it is almost
considered normal.
Given the overall details of online dating, I would say “user discretion is advised”. The
internet is a part of our everyday lives and so it makes sense for it to find a place in our love
lives as well. It is slowly becoming the norm as half of people under 30 have used dating
apps in the last five years. If you are going to follow the growing trend it is important to be
alert and use its advantages.
Zhou, Y. (n.d.). The Benefits and Dangers of Online Dating Apps. View of the benefits and
dangers of online dating apps.
Utah State University. (2023, December 14). Pros and cons of online dating in later life. USU.
life
Vogels, E. A. (2023, February 2). Key findings about online dating in the U.S. Pew Research
dating-in-the-u-s/
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