Online Dating

Dear Ellison, Heino, and Gibbs,

      I see commercials on television all the time that talk about how more and more people are now choosing online dating as a way of getting out and meeting new people. I understand that people who do it usually use it as a way to get themselves out there even though they have a busy personal life. Others use online dating as their sole outlet because it is "easier" for them to meet someone online than it is in the real world.


     In either case, the biggest caveat in online dating is deception. Just like in real life dating, people will use deception to make themselves appear better than they truly are. They try to look better, say things that will make the other person like them, and keep all of their less desirable traits hidden. The same is true for online dating, however, I feel like it takes it to the extreme. Since people are behind the barriers of their computer, they have the ability to drastically distort their image, personality, or any other traits in order to find a "match". 


     The key to online dating is the way someone presents themselves to others. This plays along with deception as well, but also goes into how a person uses that to get their profiles out there. When most people have to sift through hundreds of profiles in an online site, standing out is an important factor. 

     Overall, I liked these articles because they hit on a lot of these relevant points and added some interesting food for thought.


                                                               Sincerely,
                                                             Kevin Lanza