online dating opinion essay

Online Dating: A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science

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Although the authors find that online dating sites offer a distinctly different experience than conventional dating, the superiority of these sites is not as evident. Dating sites provide access to more potential partners than do traditional dating methods, but the act of browsing and comparing large numbers of profiles can lead individuals to commoditize potential partners and can reduce their willingness to commit to any one person. Communicating online can foster intimacy and affection between strangers, but it can also lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment when potential partners meet in real life. Although many dating sites tout the superiority of partner matching through the use of “scientific algorithms,” the authors find that there is little evidence that these algorithms can predict whether people are good matches or will have chemistry with one another.

The authors’ overarching assessment of online dating sites is that scientifically, they just don’t measure up. As online dating matures, however, it is likely that more and more people will avail themselves of these services, and if development — and use — of these sites is guided by rigorous psychological science, they may become a more promising way for people to meet their perfect partners.

Hear author Eli J. Finkel discuss the science behind online dating at the 24th APS Annual Convention .

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Editorial: Online Dating:  The Current Status —and Beyond

By Arthur Aron

I agree wholeheartedly that so-called scientific dating sites are totally off-base. They make worse matches than just using a random site. That’s because their matching criteria are hardly scientific, as far as romance goes. They also have a very small pool of educated, older men, and lots more women. Therefore they often come up with no matches at all, despite the fact that women with many different personality types in that age group have joined. They are an expensive rip-off for many women over 45.

Speaking as someone who was recently “commoditized” by who I thought was a wonderful man I met on a dating site, I find that the types of people who use these services are looking at the wrong metrics when they seek out a prospective love interest. My mother and father had very few hobbies and interests in common, but because they shared the same core values, their love endured a lifetime. When I got dumped because I didn’t share my S.O.’s interests exactly down the line, I realized how dangerous this line of thinking truly is, how it marginalizes people who really want to give and receive love for more important reasons.

I met a few potential love interests online and I never paid for any matching service! I did my own research on people and chatted online within a site to see if we had things in common. If we had a few things in common, we exchanged numbers, texted for a while, eventually spoke on the phone and if things felt right, we’d meet in a public place to talk. If that went well, we would have another date. I am currently with a man I met online and we have been together for two years! We have plans to marry in the future. But there is always the thought that if this doesn’t work out, how long will it take either of us to jump right back online to find the next possible love connection? I myself would probably start looking right away since looking for love online is a lengthy process!

I knew this man 40 years ago as we worked in the same agency for two years but never dated. Last November 2013 I saw his profile on a dating site. My husband had died four years ago and his wife died 11 years ago. We dated for five months. I questioned him about his continued online search as I had access to his username. Five months into the friendship he told me he “Was looking for his dream women in cyberspace”. I think he has been on these dating sites for over 5 years. Needless to say I will not tolerate this and it was over. I am sad, frustrated and angry how this ended as underneath all of his insecurities, unresolved issues with his wife’s death he is a good guy. I had been on these dating sties for 2 and 1/2 years and now I am looking at Matchmaking services as a better choice in finding a “Better good guy”.

I refer to these sites as “Designer Dating” sites. I liken the search process to ‘Window Shopping’. No-one seems very interested in making an actual purchase or commitment. I notice that all the previous comments are from women only. I agree with the article that says essentially, there are too many profiles and photos. Having fallen under this spell myself…”Oh, he’s nice but I’m sure there’s something better on the next page…” Click. Next. And on it goes. The term Chemistry gets thrown around a lot. I don’t know folks. I sure ain’t feelin’ it. Think I’ll go hang out with some friends now.

Stumbling upon this article during research for my Master thesis and I am curious: Would you use an app, that introduces a new way of dating, solely based on your voice and who you are, rather than how you look like? To me, we don’t fall in love with someone because of their looks (or their body mass index for that matter) or because of an algorithm, but because of the way somebody makes you feel and the way s.o. makes you laugh. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter if someone has blue or brown eyes and my experience is, that most people place fake, manipulated or outdated pictures online to sell someone we don’t really are. And we are definitely more than our looks. I found my partner online and we had no picture of each other for three months – but we talked every night for hours…. fell in love and still are after 10 years… We met on a different level and got aligned long before we met. So, the question is, would you give this way of meeting someone a chance… an app where you can listen in to answers people give to questions other user asked before and where you can get a feeling for somebody before you even see them?

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How online dating has changed the way we fall in love

H ow do couples meet and fall in love in the 21st century? It is a question that sociologist Dr Marie Bergström has spent a long time pondering. “Online dating is changing the way we think about love,” she says. “One idea that has been really strong in the past – certainly in Hollywood movies – is that love is something you can bump into, unexpectedly, during a random encounter.” Another strong narrative is the idea that “love is blind, that a princess can fall in love with a peasant and love can cross social boundaries. But that is seriously challenged when you’re online dating, because it’s so obvious to everyone that you have search criteria. You’re not bumping into love – you’re searching for it.”

Falling in love today tracks a different trajectory. “There is a third narrative about love – this idea that there’s someone out there for you, someone made for you, a soulmate,” says Bergström. “And you just need to find that person.” That idea is very compatible with online dating. “It pushes you to be proactive – to go and search for this person. You shouldn’t just sit at home and wait for this person.”

As a result, the way we think about love – the way we depict it in films and books, the way we imagine that love works – is changing. “There is much more focus on the idea of a soulmate. And other ideas of love are fading away,” says Bergström, whose controversial French book on the subject, The New Laws of Love , has recently been published in English for the first time.

Instead of meeting a partner through friends, colleagues or acquaintances, dating is often now a private, compartmentalised activity that is deliberately carried out away from prying eyes in an entirely disconnected, separate social sphere, she says.

“Online dating makes it much more private. It’s a fundamental change and a key element that explains why people go on online dating platforms and what they do there – what kind of relationships come out of it.”

Take Lucie, 22, a student who is interviewed in the book. “There are people I could have matched with but when I saw we had so many mutual acquaintances, I said no. It immediately deters me, because I know that whatever happens between us might not stay between us. And even at the relationship level, I don’t know if it’s healthy to have so many friends in common.”

It’s stories like these about the separation of dating from other parts of life that Bergström increasingly uncovered in exploring themes for her book. A researcher at the French Institute for Demographic Studies in Paris, she spent 13 years between 2007 and 2020 researching European and North American online dating platforms and conducting interviews with their users and founders. Unusually, she also managed to gain access to the anonymised user data collected by the platforms themselves.

She argues that the nature of dating has been fundamentally transformed by online platforms. “In the western world, courtship has always been tied up and very closely associated with ordinary social activities, like leisure, work, school or parties. There has never been a specifically dedicated place for dating.”

In the past, using, for example, a personal ad to find a partner was a marginal practice that was stigmatised, precisely because it turned dating into a specialised, insular activity. But online dating is now so popular that studies suggest it is the third most common way to meet a partner in Germany and the US. “We went from this situation where it was considered to be weird, stigmatised and taboo to being a very normal way to meet people.”

Having popular spaces that are specifically created for privately meeting partners is “a really radical historical break” with courtship traditions. For the first time, it is easy to constantly meet partners who are outside your social circle. Plus, you can compartmentalise dating in “its own space and time”, separating it from the rest of your social and family life.

Dating is also now – in the early stages, at least – a “domestic activity”. Instead of meeting people in public spaces, users of online dating platforms meet partners and start chatting to them from the privacy of their homes. This was especially true during the pandemic, when the use of platforms increased. “Dating, flirting and interacting with partners didn’t stop because of the pandemic. On the contrary, it just took place online. You have direct and individual access to partners. So you can keep your sexual life outside your social life and ensure people in your environment don’t know about it.”

Alix, 21, another student in the book, says: “I’m not going to date a guy from my university because I don’t want to see him every day if it doesn’t work out. I don’t want to see him with another girl either. I just don’t want complications. That’s why I prefer it to be outside all that.” The first and most obvious consequence of this is that it has made access to casual sex much easier. Studies show that relationships formed on online dating platforms tend to become sexual much faster than other relationships. A French survey found that 56% of couples start having sex less than a month after they meet online, and a third first have sex when they have known each other less than a week. By comparison, 8% of couples who meet at work become sexual partners within a week – most wait several months.

“On online dating platforms, you see people meeting a lot of sexual partners,” says Bergström. It is easier to have a short-term relationship, not just because it’s easier to engage with partners – but because it’s easier to disengage, too. “These are people who you do not know from elsewhere, that you do not need to see again.” This can be sexually liberating for some users. “You have a lot of sexual experimentation going on.”

Bergström thinks this is particularly significant because of the double standards still applied to women who “sleep around”, pointing out that “women’s sexual behaviour is still judged differently and more severely than men’s”.

By using online dating platforms, women can engage in sexual behaviour that would be considered “deviant” and simultaneously maintain a “respectable” image in front of their friends, colleagues and relations. “They can separate their social image from their sexual behaviour.” This is equally true for anyone who enjoys socially stigmatised sexual practices. “They have easier access to partners and sex.”

Perhaps counterintuitively, even though people from a wide range of different backgrounds use online dating platforms, Bergström found users usually seek partners from their own social class and ethnicity. “In general, online dating platforms do not break down barriers or frontiers. They tend to reproduce them.”

In the future, she predicts these platforms will play an even bigger and more important role in the way couples meet, which will reinforce the view that you should separate your sex life from the rest of your life. “Now, we’re in a situation where a lot of people meet their casual partners online. I think that could very easily turn into the norm. And it’s considered not very appropriate to interact and approach partners at a friend’s place, at a party. There are platforms for that. You should do that elsewhere. I think we’re going to see a kind of confinement of sex.”

Overall, for Bergström, the privatisation of dating is part of a wider movement towards social insularity, which has been exacerbated by lockdown and the Covid crisis. “I believe this tendency, this evolution, is negative for social mixing and for being confronted and surprised by other people who are different to you, whose views are different to your own.” People are less exposed, socially, to people they haven’t specifically chosen to meet – and that has broader consequences for the way people in society interact and reach out to each other. “We need to think about what it means to be in a society that has moved inside and closed down,” she says.

As Penelope, 47, a divorced working mother who no longer uses online dating platforms, puts it: “It’s helpful when you see someone with their friends, how they are with them, or if their friends tease them about something you’ve noticed, too, so you know it’s not just you. When it’s only you and that person, how do you get a sense of what they’re like in the world?”

Some names have been changed

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The virtues and downsides of online dating, 30% of u.s. adults say they have used a dating site or app. a majority of online daters say their overall experience was positive, but many users – particularly younger women – report being harassed or sent explicit messages on these platforms.

Pew Research Center has long studied the changing nature of romantic relationships and the role of digital technology in how people meet potential partners and navigate web-based dating platforms. This particular report focuses on the patterns, experiences and attitudes related to online dating in America. These findings are based on a survey conducted Oct. 16 to 28, 2019, among 4,860 U.S. adults. This includes those who took part as members of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses, as well as respondents from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel who indicated that they identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

Recruiting ATP panelists by phone or mail ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. This gives us confidence that any sample can represent the whole U.S. adult population (see our Methods 101 explainer on random sampling). To further ensure that each ATP survey reflects a balanced cross-section of the nation, the data are weighted to match the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories.

For more, see the report’s methodology about the project. You can also find the questions asked, and the answers the public provided in this topline .

From personal ads that began appearing in publications around the 1700s to videocassette dating services that sprang up decades ago, the platforms people use to seek out romantic partners have evolved throughout history. This evolution has continued with the rise of online dating sites and mobile apps.

The current survey finds that online dating is especially popular among certain groups – particularly younger adults and those who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). Roughly half or more of 18- to 29-year-olds (48%) and LGB adults (55%) say they have ever used a dating site or app, while about 20% in each group say they have married or been in a committed relationship with someone they first met through these platforms. Americans who have used online dating offer a mixed look at their time on these platforms.

On a broad level, online dating users are more likely to describe their overall experience using these platforms in positive rather than negative terms. Additionally, majorities of online daters say it was at least somewhat easy for them to find others that they found physically attractive, shared common interests with, or who seemed like someone they would want to meet in person. But users also share some of the downsides to online dating. Roughly seven-in-ten online daters believe it is very common for those who use these platforms to lie to try to appear more desirable. And by a wide margin, Americans who have used a dating site or app in the past year say the experience left them feeling more frustrated (45%) than hopeful (28%).

Other incidents highlight how dating sites or apps can become a venue for bothersome or harassing behavior – especially for women under the age of 35. For example, 60% of female users ages 18 to 34 say someone on a dating site or app continued to contact them after they said they were not interested, while a similar share (57%) report being sent a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for.

Online dating has not only disrupted more traditional ways of meeting romantic partners, its rise also comes at a time when norms and behaviors around marriage and cohabitation also are changing as more people delay marriage or choose to remain single.

These shifting realities have sparked a broader debate about the impact of online dating on romantic relationships in America. On one side, some highlight the ease and efficiency of using these platforms to search for dates, as well as the sites’ ability to expand users’ dating options beyond their traditional social circles. Others offer a less flattering narrative about online dating – ranging from concerns about scams or harassment to the belief that these platforms facilitate superficial relationships rather than meaningful ones. This survey finds that the public is somewhat ambivalent about the overall impact of online dating. Half of Americans believe dating sites and apps have had neither a positive nor negative effect on dating and relationships, while smaller shares think its effect has either been mostly positive (22%) or mostly negative (26%).

Terminology

These findings come from a nationally representative survey of 4,860 U.S. adults conducted online Oct. 16 to 28, 2019, using Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. The following are among the major findings.

Younger adults – as well as those who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual – are especially likely to use online dating sites or apps

Experience with online dating varies substantially by age. While 48% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they have ever used a dating site or app, that share is 38% among 30- to 49-year-olds, and it is even smaller among those ages 50 and older. Still, online dating is not completely foreign to those in their 50s or early 60s: 19% of adults ages 50 to 64 say they have used a dating site or app.

Beyond age, there also are striking differences by sexual orientation. 3 LGB adults are about twice as likely as straight adults to say they have used a dating site or app (55% vs. 28%). 4 And in a pattern consistent with previous Pew Research Center surveys , college graduates and those with some college experience are more likely than those with a high school education or less to say they’ve ever online dated.

There are only modest differences between men and women in their use of dating sites or apps, while white, black or Hispanic adults all are equally likely to say they have ever used these platforms.

At the same time, a small share of U.S. adults report that they found a significant other through online dating platforms. Some 12% of adults say they have married or entered into a committed relationship with someone they first met through a dating site or app. This too follows a pattern similar to that seen in overall use, with adults under the age of 50, those who are LGB or who have higher levels of educational attainment more likely to report finding a spouse or committed partner through these platforms.

A majority of online daters say they found it at least somewhat easy to come across others on dating sites or apps that they were physically attracted to or shared their interests

For the most part, different demographic groups tend to view their online dating experiences similarly. But there are some notable exceptions. College-educated online daters, for example, are far more likely than those with a high school diploma or less to say that their own personal experience with dating sites or apps is very or somewhat positive (63% vs. 47%).

At the same time, 71% of online daters report that it was at least somewhat easy to find people on dating sites or apps that they found physically attractive, while about two-thirds say it was easy to find people who shared their hobbies or interests or seemed like someone they would want to meet in person.

While majorities across various demographic groups are more likely to describe their searches as easy, rather than difficult, there are some differences by gender. Among online daters, women are more likely than men to say it was at least somewhat difficult to find people they were physically attracted to (36% vs. 21%), while men were more likely than women to express that it was difficult to find others who shared their hobbies and interests (41% vs. 30%).

Men who have online dated in the past five years are more likely than women to feel as if they did not get enough messages from other users

There are substantial gender differences in the amount of attention online daters say they received on dating sites or apps. Men who have online dated in the past five years are far more likely than women to feel as if they did not get enough messages (57% vs. 24%). On the other hand, women who have online dated in this time period are five times as likely as men to think they were sent too many messages (30% vs. 6%).

The survey also asked online daters about their experiences with getting messages from people they were interested in. In a similar pattern, these users are more likely to report receiving too few rather than too many of these messages (54% vs. 13%). And while gender differences remain, they are far less pronounced. For example, 61% of men who have online dated in the past five years say they did not receive enough messages from people they were interested in, compared with 44% of women who say this.

Roughly seven-in-ten online daters think people lying to appear more desirable is a very common occurrence on online dating platforms

Smaller, but still substantial shares, of online daters believe people setting up fake accounts in order to scam others (50%) or people receiving sexually explicit messages or images they did not ask for (48%) are very common on dating sites and apps. By contrast, online daters are less likely to think harassment or bullying, and privacy violations, such as data breaches or identify theft, are very common occurrences on these platforms.

Some users – especially younger women – report being the target of rude or harassing behavior while on these platforms

Some experts contend that the open nature of online dating — that is, the fact that many users are strangers to one another — has created a less civil dating environment and therefore makes it difficult to hold people accountable for their behavior. This survey finds that a notable share of online daters have been subjected to some form of harassment measured in this survey.

Roughly three-in-ten or more online dating users say someone through a dating site or app continued to contact them after they said they were not interested (37%), sent them a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for (35%) or called them an offensive name (28%). Fewer online daters say someone via a dating site or app has threatened to physically harm them.

Younger women are particularly likely to encounter each of these behaviors. Six-in-ten female online dating users ages 18 to 34 say someone via a dating site or app continued to contact them after they said they were not interested, while 57% report that another user has sent them a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for. Other negative interactions are more violent in nature: 19% of younger female users say someone on a dating site or app has threatened to physically harm them – roughly twice the rate of men in the same age range who say this.

The likelihood of encountering these kinds of behaviors on dating platforms also varies by sexual orientation. Fully 56% of LGB users say someone on a dating site or app has sent them a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for, compared with about one-third of straight users (32%). LGB users are also more likely than straight users to say someone on a dating site or app continued to contact them after they told them they were not interested, called them an offensive name or threatened to physically harm them.

Online dating is not universally seen as a safe way to meet someone

Some 53% of Americans overall (including those who have and have not online dated) agree that dating sites and apps are a very or somewhat safe way to meet people, while a somewhat smaller share (46%) believe these platforms are a not too or not at all safe way of meeting people.

Americans who have never used a dating site or app are particularly skeptical about the safety of online dating. Roughly half of adults who have never used a dating or app (52%) believe that these platforms are a not too or not at all safe way to meet others, compared with 29% of those who have online dated.

There are some groups who are particularly wary of the idea of meeting someone through dating platforms. Women are more inclined than men to believe that dating sites and apps are not a safe way to meet someone (53% vs. 39%).

Age and education are also linked to differing attitudes about the topic. For example, 59% of Americans ages 65 and older say meeting someone this way is not safe, compared with 51% of those ages 50 to 64 and 39% among adults under the age of 50. Those who have a high school education or less are especially likely to say that dating sites and apps are not a safe way to meet people, compared with those who have some college experience or who have at bachelor’s or advanced degree. These patterns are consistent regardless of each group’s own personal experience with using dating sites or apps.

Pluralities think online dating has neither helped nor harmed dating and relationships and that relationships that start online are just as successful as those that begin offline

Respondents who say online dating’s effect has been mostly positive or mostly negative were asked to explain in their own words why they felt this way. Some of the most common reasons provided by those who believe online dating has had a positive effect focus on its ability to expand people’s dating pools and to allow people to evaluate someone before agreeing to meet in person. These users also believe dating sites and apps generally make the process of dating easier. On the other hand, people who said online dating has had a mostly negative effect most commonly cite dishonesty and the idea that users misrepresent themselves.

Pluralities also believe that whether a couple met online or in person has little effect on the success of their relationship. Just over half of Americans (54%) say that relationships where couples meet through a dating site or app are just as successful as those that begin in person, 38% believe these relationships are less successful, while 5% deem them more successful.

Public attitudes about the impact or success of online dating differ between those who have used dating platforms and those who have not. While 29% of online dating users say dating sites and apps have had a mostly positive effect on dating and relationships, that share is 21% among non-users. People who have ever used a dating site or app also have a more positive assessment of relationships forged online. Some 62% of online daters believe relationships where people first met through a dating site or app are just as successful as those that began in person, compared with 52% of those who never online dated.

• Pew Research Center’s 2013 survey about online dating was conducted via telephone, while the 2019 survey was fielded online through the Center’s American Trends Panel . In addition, there were some changes in question wording between these surveys. Please read the Methodology section for full details on how the 2019 survey was conducted. ↩
• Other studies show that online dating is playing a larger role in how romantic partners meet. See Rosenfeld, Michael J., Reuben J. Thomas, and Sonia Hausen. 2019. “ Disintermediating your friends: How online dating in the United States displaces other ways of meeting .” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ↩
• This survey includes an oversample of lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) adults. For more details, see the Methodology section of the report. ↩
• Other research suggests that online dating is an especially important way for populations with a small pool of potential partners – such as those who identify as gay or lesbian – to identify and meet partners. See Rosenfeld, Michael J., and Thomas, Reuben J. 2012. “ Searching for a Mate: The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary .” American Sociological Review. ↩

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About half of never-married americans have used an online dating site or app, dating and relationships in the digital age, shareable facts about americans’ experiences with online dating, 10 facts about americans and online dating in 2019, q&a: how and why we studied online dating in the u.s., most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Are Couples That Meet Online More or Less Happy?

Stigma endures, even as connections become more common..

Updated November 15, 2023 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

• The Science of Mating
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• As online dating has grown more popular, more marriages today get their start online.
• A new study shows that people who meet their spouse offline are more satisfied.
• Online daters also report less stable and satisfying marriages in what we term the online dating effect.

This post was co-authored by Elizabeth Dorrance-Hall, Associate Professor of Communication, Michigan State University and author of Conscious Communication .

If you decide to get married (or if you already are), your choice of a spouse is one of the most important decisions you ever make. Increasingly people are turning to online dating for help with finding “the one.” Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center issued a report revealing that 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. (and 1 in 5 under the age of 30) who are in a serious relationship (i.e., married, cohabiting, or committed) met through online dating. However, until now, not much was known about online dating’s long-term effects on relationships.

In a new study in the journal Computers in Human Behavior , we conducted a survey comparing the marriages of 923 people who met their spouse either in online dating or offline. We stratified our sample to ensure equal representation of online and offline daters and matched our participants’ demographics to U.S. Census Bureau data to enhance representativeness.

The people who met online were introduced through a variety of websites and apps. Those who met offline were introduced through friends, work, and school, to name a few of the most popular venues. We asked participants questions about themselves: their demographics, their dating histories, and their personal characteristics. We also asked about two markers of marital quality: satisfaction and stability. We were interested in whether those who met online versus offline felt satisfied in their marriage , whether they felt that their spouse met their needs, and whether they had ever seriously thought about getting a divorce .

Selection Biases in Online Dating

We started by taking a closer look at the people who met online and are getting married. Do those who meet a spouse online have certain characteristics in common? Our data pointed to a selection bias in the types of people who find love online. Compared to those who met a spouse offline, online daters were younger, had more dating experience, were more recently married, and were more likely to be in a same-sex or an interracial marriage. Given the sheer popularity of online dating in the U.S. and the recency of the relationships in our sample, we suspect that we could see even more marriages that start from online dating in the coming years.

The Online Dating Effect

We were also interested in the quality of these relationships. Are there differences in the marriages of couples who meet through online dating and those who meet offline? We refer to differences in the long-term prospects of these relationships as the online dating effect . Ten years ago, the direction of this effect leaned slightly positive, with people who met through online dating reporting more satisfying and stable marriages. Today, it is reversed: Online daters in our study reported less satisfying and stable marriage than those who met their spouse the old-fashioned way. However, this does not mean that you should delete your apps: Even though online daters reported different outcomes than offline daters, their relationships were still of high quality, on average.

From the beginning, there has been a stigma surrounding online dating, with dating apps in particular gaining reputations for being nonserious and hookup-oriented. This stigma can put added stress on a relationship due to marginalization, or the perception that society disapproves of how the couple met. We found that online daters experience more societal marginalization than offline daters, which led to feeling less supported by friends and family. In another recent study , several people described how this affected their marriage in their own words. According to one person:

I did not tell my parents that that’s how we met. I feel like there’s such a stigma around it, that hookup culture and, “Oh why were you on there? Were you just trying to hook up with guys?” That’s not what I was doing, but I didn’t want to have to defend it.

A different person said:

It still doesn’t get the same respect or oohs and awws as people who will be like, “I met my husband when I was in college, and we’ve been together ever since.” It just seems like a lesser relationship.

Considering the many differences between online and offline dating, there could be other explanations for the online dating effect that require closer inspection. For instance, it could be something about the people who gravitate to these platforms, the algorithms used to match them, or even the size of the dating pool that leads to differences in long-term relationship outcomes. As one example, when options seem abundant, people may be less willing to remain in a relationship when times get tough, which could mean less stability down the road.

For now, our study suggests that meeting online can and does lead to satisfying and stable relationships, but there is evidence of a current trend of online daters reporting less satisfying and stable marriages than those who met in person. We recommend normalizing meeting online as one way to reduce the stigma around online dating, which may lead to more support for these relationships. According to another person:

I think a lot of people don’t know how to react to it yet, right? Because before it was kind of like meeting at a bar was like: "Oh no, you never marry someone you met at a bar," you know? So I think in many ways people are just kind of not really sure what that means. Like maybe they haven’t heard enough success stories, or failures yet, to have an opinion one way or the other.

The way people talk about their relationship can also help normalize this type of dating. Some partners who met online tell an alternative story about how they met or may avoid sharing with friends and family. “Meet cutes” are not just for people who meet in person – in fact, people who meet online often have two stories to tell: the online meeting and the eventual in-person meeting. Educating the public about online dating could go a long way toward encouraging greater acceptance of these relationships. The better people understand online dating, the more likely they will be to embrace it as a legitimate way of finding love.

Facebook image: Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

Sharabi, L. L. (2023). The enduring effect of Internet dating: Meeting online and the road to marriage. Communication Research . Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221127498

Sharabi, L. L., & Dorrance-Hall, E. (2023). The online dating effect: Where a couple meets predicts the quality of their marriage. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107973

Vogels, E. A., & McClain, C. (2023, February 2). Key findings about online dating in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/

Liesel Sharabi, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University.

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Online Dating Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best online dating topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on online dating, 📌 simple & easy online dating essay titles.

• Online Dating Platforms, Sex, and Relationships The most popular dating websites claim that their rates of a successful pairing are high, as they allow for an in-depth assessment of potential partners.
• Dating Online as a Part of Human Life The technological advancement of internet has made cyber sex to be on the rise. The best they can do is to exchange their feeling where some of them might be flirting and using internet to […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• An Online Dating Service for College Students: Biff Targets Marketing The issue that has to be answered in the case is what the college students, as target customers for online dating service, ideadlly would like to be offered.
• The Pitfalls of Online Dating These include the very real potential for deceit, interpersonal elements of physical attraction are absent in the online world and the time involved in interfacing with the computer reduces the ability of the individual to […]
• Online Dating for Aging Adults Considering the benefactors of the relationships that aging people develop through dating sites and applications also helps to determine the actual value of the tools in question.
• Online Dating: An Advocacy Campaign The proposed advocacy campaign is designed with the purpose of protecting people from the illegal conduct of those who use online dating websites to deceive others.
• Online Dating Start-Up Business Plan Due to this, a large number of online dating project has emerged in recent years, and the level of competition has increased as well.
• Relationships and Online Dating The creation of online dating sites and applications was most likely intended to eliminate these issues and make the process of finding new partners easy and stress-free.
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Dating Essay Advantages Unlike offline dating, online dating allows the user to interact with millions of people without having to travel. Similarly, with the use of online dating some people have been able to lie about their […]
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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Online Dating — The Concept and People’s Expectations from Online Dating

The Concept and People’s Expectations from Online Dating

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Essay on Online Dating

Students are often asked to write an essay on Online Dating in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Online Dating

What is online dating.

Online dating is a way for people to meet and get to know each other through the internet. It is done by using websites or apps that connect people who are interested in dating. You create a profile, add your picture, and share some details about yourself. Then, you can look at other people’s profiles and start talking to those who interest you.

Popularity of Online Dating

Online dating has become very popular in recent years. Many people use it because it’s easy and convenient. You can meet people from all over the world without leaving your home. It’s also a good way to meet people who share your interests.

Benefits of Online Dating

There are many benefits to online dating. It can save you time and money because you don’t have to go out to meet people. You can also learn a lot about a person before you meet them. This can help you decide if you want to go on a date with them or not.

Risks of Online Dating

While online dating has many benefits, there are also risks. Some people may lie about themselves on their profiles. Also, there is a risk of meeting someone who is not who they say they are. It’s important to be careful when using online dating.

Online dating is a useful tool for meeting new people. It has many benefits but also some risks. Always be careful and make sure to protect your personal information. Remember, it’s okay to take your time and get to know someone before meeting them in person.

250 Words Essay on Online Dating

Online dating is a modern way to meet new people. It happens on websites or apps. People create profiles with their details like age, hobbies, and pictures. They can then search for other people who they might like to know better.

Why Do People Use Online Dating?

Some people find it hard to meet others in real life. They might be shy or busy. Online dating can help them. They can talk to new people from their own home. It’s also easy to find people who share the same interests.

How Does Online Dating Work?

When you join a dating site, you fill out a profile. You write about yourself and what you like. Then, the site shows you profiles of other people. If you like someone, you can send them a message. If they like you back, you can chat more.

The Risks of Online Dating

Online dating can be fun, but it also has risks. Some people might not be honest in their profiles. They might use fake pictures or lie about their age. It’s important to be careful. Never share personal information like your address or phone number.

In conclusion, online dating is a useful tool for meeting new people. It can be a good option if you’re shy or busy. But remember, it’s important to stay safe. Always be careful with your personal information.

500 Words Essay on Online Dating

Online dating is a modern way to meet new people. It happens on the internet using websites or apps. People create profiles with their pictures and information. They can then search for other people who they might like to know better. It’s like a virtual meeting place.

Online dating starts with setting up a profile. A person shares details about themselves, like their hobbies, interests, and what they’re looking for in a partner. They can also share pictures. Once the profile is ready, they can look at other people’s profiles. If they find someone they like, they can send them a message. This is how conversations start in online dating.

Pros of Online Dating

Online dating has many good points. One of the biggest is that it allows people to meet others they might not have met. This is because they can connect with people from different places, not just their local area.

Online dating also lets people be more specific about who they want to meet. They can filter their search based on things like age, interests, or location. This can make it easier to find someone who is a good match.

Another good point is that online dating can be less scary than meeting someone in person for the first time. People can take their time to get to know each other online before deciding to meet in real life.

Cons of Online Dating

But online dating also has its downsides. One of the main ones is that people might not be honest in their profiles. They could lie about their age, looks, or other details. This can make it hard to know if you’re really a good match with someone.

Also, online dating can sometimes feel impersonal. It can be hard to really get to know someone through a screen. And sometimes, people can be rude or unkind in messages because they’re not face-to-face.

Staying Safe with Online Dating

Safety is important in online dating. It’s key to keep personal information, like your home address or phone number, private. It’s also a good idea to meet in a public place if you decide to meet in person. And remember, it’s okay to stop talking to someone if they make you feel uncomfortable.

Online dating is a popular way to meet new people. It has its good points, like letting you meet people from all over. But it also has downsides, like the risk of dishonesty. As long as you stay safe, it can be a fun way to explore new relationships.

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Compare And Contrast Essay: Online Dating vs. Real-Life Dating

The need for human connection drives people to look in various ways; some people choose to meet people online, while others prefer real-life in-person situations to meet people.  For myself and my wife, we met online. As someone who dislikes the typical bar scene, I felt I needed an alternate means to find a connection. As an introvert, I found it easier to meet and talk to people online than in face-to-face situations.

Personality traits can affect a person’s comfort level and drive how they prefer to interact with people. Real-life dating is much more common for extroverted people who frequent bars and larger social gatherings. But for an introvert, the online method can give a sense of a barrier, allowing the person to feel freer to communicate more and be in a more comfortable environment. One must also understand the vices that would enable someone to open up. Some extroverts can also communicate better while drinking; however, drinking can lead to other issues while trying to meet others. 

Online dating can also be safer in some circumstances. Online dating allows for more time to make an intellectual connection without other distractions.  There is a greater chance of being put in a more vulnerable situation meeting in real life at a bar. Alcohol can also give a false sense of a person’s personality. Nevertheless, the online method can have its drawbacks as well. People are potentially more apt to lie online by using false pictures or information. The term “catfishing” refers to people providing incorrect information on social media or over cell phones. 

Modern technology makes it much easier to meet people online. Social media has given people the ability to find old acquaintances from school or previous workplaces. Technology offers many different means to meet various types of people from many other locations. Real-life dating limits you to local areas, and a lot of times, the same people frequent the same places. Ultimately, people who meet online can eventually meet face to face and move their relationship further. 

During my dating era, face-to-face dating was the social norm. Online dating was in its infancy and still considered taboo. Online dating is now far more socially accepted. As dating has evolved to provide both real-life and online options, the playing field for introverts and extroverts has leveled.  While there are many differences between the online versus real-life dating experience, both allow any personality type to find the most basic human need; connection.  

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Writing An Online Dating Essay

Essay paper writing

Academic writing

Before you start thinking of anything

The topic of dating has caused discussions throughout the past few decades. The forms of dating have been changing from year to year, and more possibilities were opened for the people to meet their new partners. And the biggest steps were taken in the past decade when we discovered that we could use our new friend, the Web, to meet people. All of that started with the social media. And then, the dating websites appeared. They brought a change in how we see relationships in the modern world. Online dating has influenced our society a lot. This issue has been discussed many times, but not everything has been covered yet. This is an opportunity for you to make a change by writing your essay. There are many essay ideas on online dating you can pick from — so make your decision wisely. Why choose online dating for an essay topic is not something that requires a lot of thoughts — writing about online dating will help others to know more about it and learn how to build a successful relationship not only online, but also in the real world. So go ahead and do it!

But first, it is crucial to think of something less important, as many are going to say, and these are (sentence reduction) the online dating essay titles. Many people consider this part of the text to be a useless waste of time, but actually, the title is something that people are looking at before the reading (sentence reduction). And if your text is difficult to read, then it is almost impossible to make a new reader interested in the essay you are writing. Therefore, in most of the cases, it is challenging to pay a lot of attention to the details, and the title is one of the most important ones. So, how to pick a good title for online dating essay? There are many different factors that you are going to look at when writing your essay about online dating, but the main one is the type of text. Yes, it might not seem like an aspect that you should care about, but generally, it is something that determines most of the ideas in your text. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to it and think of every step that you take choosing the type. So, what are the main ways of writing this type of text?

First of all, it is important to memorize that if the text is not scientific, it needs to have a short title. We have all seen a text which is simply impossible to start reading just because of its boring name. Even though the name does not always show what the story goes about, people are still going to judge the text by the title. Only after that, they are going to start reading your online dating essay outline. Also, you have to make sure that you are keeping an eye on the content of your title. Yes, that is a thing; you have to look at the title to be on the same topic as the next lines of text that you are going to write. There are some other things about the titles of the simple essay, but they are not that important. Instead, it is vital to explain how the research and other scientific papers are different from the regular texts.

The research paper on online dating will have to keep a different line, but you are going to see that the ways of creating these two title types are pretty much the same. However, we are going to start with one thing that makes these two types different and the aspect that makes the students suffer from the low assessment of their texts. The fact is that the scientific texts need to have enough information in them. Indeed, they should not be as long as your text, but at the same time, you will have to make sure that you include the point of your writing in the title. That will allow the reader of your dating essay to get a brief look at what they are going to find out from the text. This part is essential, but many authors still do not pay enough attention to it.

Other things to care about before writing

It seems like there are so many things to think of before writing. However, it is so important to do all of these steps before you are going to jump into text creation. And there are some other things that you will have to take care of before you start. It is essential to talk about the fact of being interrupted from the text during its writing. The starters always make such mistake. As you already should know, the more you get stopped while writing, the more mistakes you might make. In the best of the online dating essay examples, you will never find a place where the author completely changed the topic of the conversation, and the reason for that is the fact that they are doing everything as they cannot leave their workplace while writing the text. It might be difficult to understand, so it is important to show an example of how to make it easier for yourself. Many writers drink a hot drink during the text writing. Some of them drink soda and water. And getting a drink will surely cost you more than those two minutes of going to the kitchen. Most likely, you are going to forget the topic that you were discussing in one of your online dating essays, and in some of the cases, it will take almost half an hour to start writing at the pace you were doing this before the pause.

And the other thing that you are going to need for your text is the information. This is vital when writing an essay that requires you to have something educational or at the texts where you don’t have to express your point of view. Usually, those texts are scientific, and in some cases, it will be almost impossible to find the info on the topic you are writing about, but you have to write in such a way which allows replacing your thoughts. For example, in an online dating argumentative essay you need many arguments that will go for or against the topic. And just like in the previous point, it is important to think of all of this before you go into the actual thinking process. Of course, you think that you will be able to find some help online, and that will help you for sure. Indeed, you are even going to find proper info for your texts. But at the same time, you can think of the things way ahead of time. That is going to help you a lot because you will not lose your momentum, and it also allows you not to pause and create a beautiful essay on online dating.

At the end of this advice, it is important to remind that it is best to tell your relatives or roommates not to disturb you at certain periods of time. Also, it has been a serious problem for some of the new writers. Apart from that, there are the social network issues. To make sure that you do not find yourself texting at the middle of the writing, you have to put away your phone. And if you like music, it sometimes would be great to have some cool vibes at the background of your working process. That can help the writer get concentrated easily.

Just like those who are writing a research paper on online dating are quite good at looking for the info because they do it every day since they started working. But do not panic, it just seems to be so difficult. So here are some of the information that you will be able to use in your texts. But just before we start, it is important to remind that throughout the text you will need many facts and numbers, so the best solution is to do a small research on your own to make sure that you have enough of that info for your online dating essay conclusion. Here are some nice facts that you can use in your text.

• Nearly one-third of those who have used the online dating sites have never actually gone on a date in real life.
• Over a half of Americans that are in a relationship right now have admitted to finding their pair online.
• About a quarter of the users of the dating sites have asked somebody to help them with their site profile.
• About 90% of those using the dating sites are lying in their profiles.
• 40% of Americans use the dating websites.
• According to eHarmony, online dating users are 52.4% men and 47.6% women. 

How to write an introduction for online dating research paper

First of all, find out who is your audience. First few sentences of your text should get your readers interested in it. You have to know who your readers are, what their age and level of education might be. Think about who might be interested in the main topic of your essay and write for them. This way you will make the readers really interested from the first few words.

The first few sentences of an essay are meant for getting your readers involved in the subject you are writing about. There are a few ways to do that:

• Surprise your readers. Everybody knows how some weird and shocking facts affect us even if we were not so interested in the main subject of an essay. When people learn something fun or interesting they did not know before, it will be curious to find out what you have prepared for them next. If you want your hook to work, you need to make sure that it has an effect you want on your readers. Try telling your friends and family a fact you want to include when you write an online dating essay introduction. If they are really shocked or surprised, then go ahead and use it without hesitations.
• Remember not to use facts that will later serve as evidence to support your main point. Use something later; it may also be a fact that will get your readers hooked. Some facts that tell your readers why the topic is important are going to be fine too. 
• You can also get your readers involved by making an emotional appeal, especially if you are writing an essay for scholarship on a social issue. Describe your own story or a story you have heard from somebody, but this story has to be connected to the main subject. For example, if you are writing a persuasive essay on online dating, think of a story when somebody has met love of their lives online and how it made their lives better. If you don’t have any friends or relatives that have such a story, look for some online, don’t forget to give a credit to the author.
• Ask your readers any question, and they will do their little research to find out the answer. You can also ask your audience a question and answer in conclusion, so more readers will be willing to read till the end of your essay, curious to find out what the truth is. Just keep in mind that if the prompt of your research paper was a question, you would not ask it again in the introduction, try to think of something original instead. For instance, if you are writing why online dating is bad essay, don’t just ask your readers why they think that online dating is terrible. Instead of doing so, ask them what they think about a percentage of people that misinterpret their image on online dating websites and which consequences does this behavior have. Your question should be specific, and you should have an answer for it that you could give in the end of an essay.
• Another way to get your readers interested right from the beginning is to tell a relevant anecdote or a funny example from life. This method is great if you are writing an essay about any personal or social issues since scientific essay requires a specific tone. While you have been looking for information for your research paper, you probably have found something that sounds cool but did not work out for the main body of the essay. For example, if you are writing an essay about online dating, look for some anecdotes that will be both funny and appropriate. If you have an amusing story to share, don’t hesitate — this will make your readers smile, so they will be willing to continue reading.

After you are done with creating a great hook for your readers, you can move on to the following step. That is making a connection between your trick and the main topic. Your readers need to know what was all of that about, and that is when you should give a link to a topic you are going to talk. Just start with a smooth transition that will fit your text (search online for a list of transitional words) and give your readers a larger picture. Then, provide the background information. Even though the introduction should not be too specific, it is best to provide some facts to your readers for a better understanding of the main points you are about to make. Information in the introduction depends on the type of your paper. For instance, if you are writing an argumentative essay, explain both sides of an argument — but make sure to be neutral. Consider this when writing a thesis statement for argumentative essay about online dating – an argumentative essay should not take only one side and it has to include different views on a topic.

You can start moving from general to specific as soon as you are finished with previous steps. While describing the context of your thesis statement, try to narrow down each sentence, making them more specific. This will help you to lead a reader from an opening sentence to the thesis statement. Then you can start writing your thesis — follow the article to find out how to do that.

So, you have your trick, and you have a context for a thesis statement. Don’t use language that will make you sound uncertain. Phrases like “I will attempt to...” or “I may not be an expert” will only harm your essay. The online dating essay thesis of your essay should be specific, and it is meant to help you discuss with your readers the main points of an essay.

To write a good thesis statement, you need to understand the meaning of it. A thesis statement is usually included at the end of the first paragraph, but feel free to change a place for it if you feel like you’ve got a better idea. The goal of this statement is to give a summary of the main topic of an essay and your viewpoint. Thesis statement sentence gives your essay a direction, so all of the additional information has to be added either before the thesis statement or after.

Provide your readers with a piece of basic information about how you are going to support your main argument. Usually, it won’t take more than one sentence. If you have an outline for an essay, it should be the sentence that will present the main subject of each of the body paragraphs. Don’t just list all of the supporting points, summarize them in your own words. For instance, if you are writing a comparison essay on online and traditional dating, briefly list 3-4 main things why both types of dating might be suitable for somebody. In the body of an essay, you will talk more about the reasons why online and traditional dating might be good or bad.

Now you can move to the main body of an essay. Most of the time you start it just straight after the introduction. But in some cases, you might have to write a short additional sentence that serves as the transitive one. To understand if you need an additional sentence, try to read your introduction out loud a few times. If it does not sound natural to you, consider adding another sentence. Also, you can ask your friends or family to read your essay. They will tell how it sounds and give advice how to make it better.

Even though your essay is pretty much finished, there are a few more things to do and to think of:

• Write your introduction, not in the beginning, but after you have finished writing the whole essay. The reason for it is simple — during the process of writing an essay, you might get some new ideas about what you should include in the introduction. If you wrote your introduction first, revise it from time to time to see if it still corresponds to the essay. Delete anything unnecessary, even if it sounded good while you were writing it.
• Another thing. Make sure that you keep your essay introduction short. It should be around 100-200 words for an essay of 1000 words or 5-10% of the length of the essay.
• And that’s it. Now we can move to the next topic we need to cover.

What age is appropriate for dating essay

This topic is a pretty interesting one, as it is not discussed too often. Therefore, it is crucial to look at it not just for the text, but also to know what to answer this question when it is asked in real life. And the fact is that there is no specific age when one should start dating or start thinking about the relationships. But once again, there is a different way to escape the situation. And to do so, we will need to look at the situation from a different perspective. And it will be a whole contrasting situation than with a type of text, like the risks of online dating essay. This case requires us to look at the things from the various perspectives. That means that we are not even going to look at the age as the main criteria. Instead, our primary focus will be how a person is spending their time and so on. So, to make this clearer, it is essential to show some examples. By the way, it will be great to use such example in your online dating vs traditional dating essay as this will be a great way to show how these two types of relationship are similar and at the same time different.

So, we are going to take an example of an average teenager who likes somebody. Well, it does not depend on the age whether the teen will ask that person on a date. It is up to the situation to decide whether it is a suitable time for the person to start dating. However, with such thing as a dating website, it gets way trickier. First of all, it is important to say that in many cases people have no idea what those sites are because they are fine with the normal dating. And that is also due to texts like dangers of the internet essay. Essays like this are quite often listing the dating sites as one of the most dangerous places on the Web. They have many various reasons to say so, like the fact that many people who are willing to harm others are on such websites, or also the fact that it is not always true what you see on a profile. Therefore, nobody has to blame such texts that they are not being objective. But at the same time, they are missing the other point of view. For some, such type of dating is the only one that is affordable. Under ‘affordable’ it is meant that they have no way that they can meet somebody in real life regularly at all or due to certain circumstances at that moment. And that is a thing to add to your cons of online dating essay that we are going to talk about later. There are many people who are working day shifts meaning that they will not be able to meet regularly because they have a lot of work to do. Therefore, the dating websites are their only ways to meet somebody with the same situation in their life, and that will be how they would suit each other. Therefore, coming back to the topic of the appropriate age, there would be no doubt that it is up to the situation to decide at what age to start dating in real life, but there have to be some limits when talking about the Web dating. This would be something to talk about in typical disadvantages of online dating essay which we are also going to cover later on in this article. And it is actually not that easy to define at what age one should start using a dating website. But in most of the cases, it is not the best idea to go there unless you are at least 20 years. The reason for that is the fact that the younger people are often too pessimistic about their relationships, so they look for some exotic ways to find a partner. Usually, students are finding their future partners at the places that both of them like. This would be great to add in an online dating research paper outline. In most of the cases, those are going to be some kind of a meetups where people with the same hobbies and interests gather. And you just need to find the actual interests that you have and go ahead and visit the meetings. If you like reading, there will be no greater way to find somebody than a library or a book club. Moreover, you might be able to find good friends and new interests there. In the case of music lovers, those might be the concerts and so on. Just do not be shy and you will see that you need no dating sites to stay happy and to find people that you might like. And to make everything even more interesting, it is the time to start talking about the pros and cons of online dating, so let us move to the next topic of the discussion.

Pros and cons of online dating essay

Just like in many cases, it is easier to start with the flip side of the coin. And to start it off, it is crucial to remind about one thing that was said previously in this text. That is the fact that not all of the people on such websites are up to the good things. You will not be surprised to find out that the better person looks, the more possibility is that they are going to trick you. And this brings us to the second problem of such websites. Do not forget to include both of them in your negative effects of online dating essay!

The second problem of the dating sites is the fact that not all of the people want to harm you, but they surely want to trick you. This is the time to use some of statistics and tell the reader some interesting numbers. To successfully start with this, it is going to be said that about 90% of people lie in their dating sites profiles. Therefore, if somebody looks too nice to be true, it is probably so. Therefore, make sure that you check everything and communicate about everything before you plan to meet in real life. And that is just like in any dangers of online dating essay.  

When writing the middle part, it is essential to give your readers some time to rest. It is crucial for them to see how many good sides and how many terrible sides the online dating has. So, do not be lazy and spend some time looking for the information to include in this transitional paragraph. Those might be some interesting stories or facts. Also, with the rise of technology, you are going to be able to find some interesting infographics or pictures illustrating the words you have said previously. But do not get too deep into the details. Remember, you still need to write your advantages of online dating essay. And it is the time to continue talking about this topic. And before the start, it is once again important to repeat the things said previously. So, let us finish this difficult part of the text!

When writing about the advantages of online dating, you have to remember that you should keep yourself away from it a little. That means that you do not want to get so much into details that you will be almost advertising those sites. But at the same time do not forget that you want to be objective on the topic you are writing about. It would be fair to remind that there are people that have no possibilities to meet in person right away due to personal factors. For example, there may be people who are working late. This is something to include in your rise of online dating essay, as this reason is one of the most significant factors of the growth of such websites.

And a factor that you have never seen would be quite weird for you, but that is the truth for some. That is the fact that people are training to talk with others using dating websites. That sounds like nonsense, but that is the sad truth for some. Due to the lack of communication with people because of various reasons, they are trying to learn this new skill using the dating websites. This would be an interesting topic to cover in the communication in online dating research paper.

After you are done with the main part, it is crucial to give your reader some time to think about everything. Therefore, make sure that you make another transitional part in your text to let your reader rest from all of the info that you gave them throughout the text. This is also where you are going to need your information that you have stored previously, before the beginning of the text. And after we are done with the online dating essay tips, it is time to get to the analysis of everything that we have learned.

The conclusion of an online dating essay

This will be a short paragraph with various reasons to go into it, but the main reason is just one. It is impossible to tell everything about the last paragraph of the text. You will be surprised, but there can even be no actual list of things that you will need to include in your conclusion. The last paragraph can also depend on the mood of the author, as it might be an optimistic one or the one that will tell only the bad things. Yes, that is way more than thinking of the online dating topics for essay.

So, there are some things that you still are going to need to know about this part of the text. And the main one is the fact that there should be no new information in this paragraph. Everything that you wanted to say must stay in the main paragraph, but in the conclusion you should start thinking about everything that you have stated before. And this might get quite tricky for some people, especially at the beginning.

Think of conclusion as of something like a what do you think about online dating essay. That is a part where you will need to express your personal opinion on the things going on in the text. But keep in mind that this might be different depending on the genre of the text. For example, in a research paper, it will be quite difficult to make people know about what you think because you are not allowed to tell about your thoughts in the scientific texts. But if you are writing something for a magazine or at school, like the effects of online dating essay, it will be crucial to include some thoughts on what is going on with the topic.

After you are done with the writing, it is quite reasonable to check everything in the text. You will need to see if the text fits the good descriptive essay topic that is given and whether it follows the same genre throughout the whole essay. This tip will save you in a difficult situation like the one where you have to write some text that is pretty difficult, for example, the analytical essay on online dating or any other scientific type of writing.

By the way, that is not the only way to improve the quality of your writing. What you can do is add some more words to make the text look nice. It would be great to think of any famous people who have spoken of the topic of your text. Those might be all types of people, but the closer they are to the field of your writing, the more your text is going to benefit from those words. Therefore, make sure that you check for all the possible quotes that you have ever met.

Those quotes and all types of pictures and all of the stuff that you have been preparing would be an excellent addition to the transitional parts of the text. Reread them and make sure that they are the words that make people relax, not feel even more confused. Therefore, it is important to check if your text readability is at a high level. You can give it to your friends to check out and do not take any critics badly. They might be the ones to show you mistakes that might cost you the job or the grade.

In the end, it would be great to check whether you need to change any words. That is a thing for some people, who do not like making their texts too big. In order to get rid of the repetitive stuff you can simply change some of the sentences and the words with other ones that are close by meaning but look well or sound like they are scientific. This trick is great to remember as it might save you a lot of work in the future when working on the other texts.

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Guest Essay

How ‘Past Lives’ Changed My Mind About My Relationship

By Euny Hong

Ms. Hong is a cultural critic.

My most stressful moviegoing experience last year was not the mushroom cloud in “Oppenheimer” or the murder trial scenes in “Anatomy of a Fall,” but watching the story of a love triangle among a Korean American woman, a Korean guy and a white guy in the Oscar-nominated “Past Lives.” In the film, Nora, our 30-something heroine, and Arthur, her white husband, are living happily in New York when Nora is contacted by Hae Sung, her childhood sweetheart in South Korea, with whom she had reconnected online as a young adult.

He tells her he’s planning to visit the city. When he arrives, it’s clear he still has feelings for her. Given this situation, I knew at least one person would be very upset by the end of the movie. For most of the film, I felt that person was going to be me.

On the one hand, as a Korean woman, I really wanted Nora to pick the Korean guy. As Arthur says to Nora, “If this was a story someone was telling, I’d be the evil white American husband keeping you two apart!” Every Asian American woman is aware of a longstanding Hollywood trope: The white male savior who sweeps in to save an “exotic” Asian woman, a scenario that goes back at least as far as Anna May Wong’s roles in the 1920s.

The maddening corollary to the white savior trope is that the Asian guy never gets the girl. I still recall the incredulity my friends and I felt coming out of a theater in 1998 having just watched “The Replacement Killers,” a movie in which the dreamy Chow Yun-fat saves the gorgeous Mira Sorvino, yet it doesn’t even occur to them to hook up.

On the other hand, I was having these thoughts while watching “Past Lives” in a movie theater sitting next to my boyfriend, who is white.

As an Asian woman living in the West, I learned long ago that every dating choice I make becomes a referendum: on race, on feminism — you know, just some of the most explosive issues of our day. If you happen to be dating a white guy, well, your relationship feels as if it’s being policed by loved ones and strangers alike. Some of them will accuse you of being psychologically damaged or of plotting to extinguish your people. You may even internalize some of these beliefs.

Before I was old enough to know how babies were made, I was taught by my whole extended family that marrying a white guy would damn my descendants and that an Asian couple was the correct, harmonious order of things. (It also made for a tidier Christmas card photo, or so I was told.)

The first time I watched “Past Lives,” I had this kind of policing in mind. I was fixated on Hollywood’s historical depictions of Asian women and recalling how the very first time I ever saw two Asian characters kissing in a Hollywood film wasn’t until 2018, with “Crazy Rich Asians.” (I think I audibly gasped.)

Of course I hoped for Nora to get together with Hae Sung: I could view the love triangle story line only through a lens that presumed that one outcome was necessarily good while the other was necessarily bad. I dutifully rooted for the good one, although it contradicted my real-life experience, as personified by the man sitting in the theater next to me.

But when I rewatched the film, which is up for best picture on Sunday, I realized it’s a smarter movie than that and truer to life as well. The broad premise of “Past Lives” may be “who will she choose?” but the reason it’s an affecting experience is not that it’s concerned with abolishing tropes or righting representational wrongs. Instead, it’s a story about three good people, trying to do right by one another, fumbling and faltering but finding their way through.

For Nora, the only fitting choice in the end is her husband, Arthur, not because he is (or isn’t) white but because he is the right choice for her. To run off with Hae Sung — whether he’s Asian or not — would not have made any sense, given what we learn about her character and relationship. Reflexively rooting for that to happen made no sense for me, either.

I have my own “Past Lives” moment, sort of. I first met my boyfriend in 1996 at a party thrown by mutual friends from college. We went on one horrible date — I take responsibility; being dense, I didn’t realize it was a date and kept whining about some clown who had just dumped me — and both decided we wanted nothing more to do with each other. Unexpectedly, 26 years later, in late 2022, I had to interview him in my role as a journalist. Reacquainted, we hit it off.

Why did things click this time and not previously? As Heraclitus wrote, you can’t step in the same river twice. To me, that’s the real lesson of “Past Lives”: We have to move forward, not back. As Nora ends up saying to Hae Sung, referring to her Korean name, Na Young, and her new home, New York: “The Na Young you remember doesn’t exist here.” When she chooses to stay with Arthur, she explains it by saying, “This is where I ended up.”

It might sound like a blowoff, but, in the film, it’s a deep and moving declaration of commitment. It’s also a moment that felt deeply authentic to me. The first time I watched the film, I worried that someone’s feelings would be crushed, maybe mine. But when I left the theater with my boyfriend, I didn’t feel heartbroken at all.

Euny Hong is a cultural critic.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , X and Threads .

Opinion Readers critique The Post: No more side-eye from Fani Willis

Every week, The Post runs a collection of letters of readers’ grievances — pointing out grammatical mistakes, missing coverage and inconsistencies. These letters tell us what we did wrong and, occasionally, offer praise. Here, we present this week’s Free for All letters.

And bonus this week: A letter from new Letters and Community editor Alyssa Rosenberg on the demonstrable difference letters make. You can read it here .

Do you have any photos of Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani T. Willis looking straight ahead? What is The Post trying to say by repeatedly using pictures of her looking sideways with that skeptical look?

Karl Hertag , Warrenton, Va.

Please stop pasting a photo of Donald Trump’s face at the top of every online story involving him. The Post’s readers, whether supporters or opponents, know what Trump’s face looks like. And he’s always in the same navy suit and red tie and always sporting the same coif. The only variation is whether he’s wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap. If you must use a photo for every story involving the former president, find something newsworthy and informative.

Katherine McCoy , Santa Fe, N.M.

‘War’ is not the answer

Regarding the March 21 front-page article “ Gaza war protests snarls Democrats’ messaging ”:

Sirs and mesdames, the gorge rose in my throat when I saw this headline. “War” was not the subject of the sentence. “Protests” was.

Lynne Heneson , Washington

Weapons of mass abstraction

Regarding Amy Sillman’s March 19 Opinion piece, “ Spring: Abstraction as ruin ”:

I’m sorry, but I don’t subscribe to the print edition so I can be directed to watch videos on my phone. I thought my substantial financial contribution to receive a newspaper delivered every morning would show my support for print media. Even online, I refrain from listening to the audio versions of Post articles. Reading a well-crafted story or opinion piece helps me delay the dementia that the daily deluge of electronic media encourages.

Eric Greene , Annapolis

Smart phone line

Regarding the March 22 front-page article “ DOJ swipes at Apple iPhone ”:

I much enjoy the many headlines that are both informative and clever. The Post missed an opportunity, however, with the headline on this article about the Biden administration’s antitrust actions against Apple. An even sharper headline would have been “DOJ calls Apple on its iPhone.”

Tom McCarthy , Brookeville, Md.

These margins must be errors

Regarding the March 21 front-page article “ Hogan leads big in bid for blue seat ”:

Can someone, anyone, please explain who the random respondents questioned for this Post-University of Maryland poll were? The results trumpeted on the front page claimed to show the main Republican competitor for Maryland’s open seat in the U.S. Senate, former governor Larry Hogan, ahead of Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) by 12 points and ahead of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) by 14 points.

Who are these people, besides being registered voters with apparently nothing better to do than answer calls and supply personal information and opinions to complete strangers? I’m just curious. As a Maryland resident who still has a landline only to locate my misplaced cellphone and whose cellphone kindly labels calls from unknown numbers as spam, I wonder why they answered. Given that Maryland Democrats have an almost 2-to-1 advantage over Republicans in party identification , that The Post’s own poll shows that Maryland residents strongly prefer Democratic control of the Senate, and that Hogan is loathed by the state’s supporters of Donald Trump, I find this supposed commanding lead highly suspect. Let’s take this polling with the grain of salt it well deserves.

Lisa Kenigsberg , Potomac

Irrelevantly irrelative

I kept waiting for the March 15 Metro article “ Growth for D.C. after covid ” to tell me the current population of the city and the metropolitan area. But that information never arrived. Wasn’t that figure relevant, so I could see whether D.C. has grown a little or a lot?

Tom Martella , Washington

Dead White men on dead white trees

Thanks for the March 16 Style article “ Female artists are being erased from chain newspapers ” on the continuing challenge of shrinking platforms for print cartoonists, especially women.

“Breaking Cat News” creator Georgia Dunn is spot on in her observation that “there are more dead men than living women in the funny pages.” The Post is itself guilty of stagnating, perpetually rerunning deceased men’s cartoons. Why not stop printing “Peanuts”? I understand it is an iconic comic, but all its strips are archived and easily available elsewhere. There are so many new and talented cartoonists, both women and men. It’s obviously not possible to print them all, but let’s make room for the new.

The newspaper is not radio or TV with indefinite time to fill and dedicated oldies channels. You’ve still got two pages that can easily be filled with funny and/or insightful comic strips.

Dalal Musa , Falls Church

I really miss some of the comics discussed in the Style article on the lack of female cartoonists represented in news publications and how they continue to suffer from widespread downsizing. “Rhymes With Orange” was a truly witty comic, and to remove it and continue to print something like “Reply All Lite” is just an insult if it is supposed to be about representing female authors. When “Reply All” was a full strip, it was at times amusing. The “Lite” version is a waste of valuable space. Without comics, I’d likely unsubscribe to the print edition, even though I love having a daily paper at the table to leaf through at breakfast. I know there is a full array of comics in the online version, but the format is clunky and time-consuming. Please bring back “Rhymes With Orange” if nothing else.

Harise Poland-Wright , Silver Spring

An undying warning on yellowed paper

In my files of old articles and quotations, I came across an Outlook essay published on Oct. 30, 2011, titled “ Pro-life’s new tactic: Redefine a ‘person.’ ” The headline on the continuation of Jessica Valenti’s essay was “What if embryos and women had equal rights?”

The paper is yellow with age, and I know Outlook does not exist anymore. However, this essay could be published now without a single word being changed and it would be as relevant as it was in 2011. Have we not learned anything in 13 years? I suggest publishing it again, along with Mark Burrier’s accompanying illustration. I wonder who would notice.

Marillyn Suzuki , Bowie

Don’t paper over red stains

Why on Earth do Post readers not see reporting on the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden above the fold on the front page every single day? Readers need to be shown just how much time their elected legislators are spending on this project, even as a succession of their own witnesses testify that there were and are no links between the president and the business dealings lawmakers are looking into, and even as impeachment inquiry ringleaders themselves appear to know there is no corroborating evidence of the existence of a “Biden Crime Family.”

Supporters of the impeachment investigation will say Lev Parnas, who worked with Rudy Giuliani to try to find evidence that Biden was corrupt but has since testified that such allegations were a Russian intelligence operation, was a damaged witness. But any prosecutor knows there are few “perfect witnesses.” Parnas’s testimony, along with the accounts of others, should have been quoted extensively where it was hard to miss.

The failure of this impeachment effort is a huge story, and it should be reported as such.

Paula Waterman , Eldersburg, Md.

Nation remembers John Wayne Gacy, better known as Pogo the Clown

Regarding the March 19 news article “ Trump may enlist Paul Manafort, who was criticized for ties to Russia ”:

For me, headlines serve several purposes. First, they aim to draw me into a story so I will read it. Next, they help set the tone for the article, providing an initial context. Finally, they serve as the first draft of history for future researchers.

By all accounts, this headline did a disservice. Paul Manafort will go down in history as having been convicted by a jury of his peers of financial crimes. History will then note that he was pardoned by Donald Trump in the waning days of his presidency. After that, his ties to Russia will be discussed.

I can’t wait for this year’s anniversary of Watergate, so I can see a headline that reads: “President Nixon, known for his fondness of tape recorders, resigned 50 years ago.”

Matthew Murguia , Kensington

‘Conservatives’ can’t even conserve ‘conservative’

Regarding the March 22 news article “ Senate Bill 4 remains on hold, but fear and confusion are mounting ”:

Now that journalists have seen Republican states fall in line to upend 130 years of precedent, practice and practicality by taking it upon themselves to supersede federal immigration law, perhaps The Post will give up the habit of calling Republicans “conservative.” It’s hard enough to follow the news. Today’s Republicans are not by any stretch of the imagination “conservatives.” They are radicals, albeit of varying degrees.

George B. Driesen , Washington

A disconcerting effort

In recent weeks, I’ve seen an uptick in what I think is a misuse of the term “concerted effort” in The Post. It has long been my understanding that one person cannot make a concerted effort, since that term describes an effort by at least two people acting “in concert.” Similarly, you cannot have a one-person conspiracy.

The Feb. 4 Sports article “ All-star, all grown up ” reported that Washington Capital Tom Wilson “has made a concerted effort to avoid the kinds of hits that land him in front of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.” The Feb. 23 Sports article “ Ruiz working to catch up behind the plate for Nats ” told readers that Washington National Keibert Ruiz “made a concerted effort to fix his defense.” And in the March 18 Sports article “ Capitals rookie Miroshnichenko goes from insurance policy to lineup staple ,” Capital Ivan Miroshnichenko “is making a concerted effort to learn English.”

Is this an approved usage per The Post’s style manual? Or should editors make a concerted effort to return this term to its original usage?

Philip Greene , Washington

The secret of their Sussex

I regret that I was unable to find any mention in The Post of the decision by Buckingham Palace to downgrade the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s profiles on the British royal family’s official website. The couple now find themselves relegated to the bottom, alongside the disgraced Duke of York.

Nicholas Barrett , Hove, Sussex, England

Chicago to younger, cooler cities: I’m carbon-dating myself, but ...

I read with amusement Benjamin Dreyer’s proclamation in his March 13 op-ed, “ A hymn to anachronyms ,” that carbon paper is “dead as doornails and dodos and the IBM Selectric.” Every day at the Richard J. Daley Center, which houses Chicago’s largest civil courthouse, lawyers slip sheets of carbon paper between preprinted blanks and hand-write court orders in triplicate. As a millennial, I’ve never touched a Selectric, but I don’t leave for court without a paperclip and a ballpoint pen.

Alexander Tievsky , Oak Park, Ill.

Heavy darkness, meet light light

Amid the news of the world, whether it’s the climate crisis, the migrant crisis, wars on several continents or, oh yeah, the upcoming elections, I always find comfort in the monthly essays by Anne Lamott. She has a miraculous way of being profound as well as humorous. Describing a walk with a longtime friend in her March 17 essay, “ One sure path to truth: A walk with your oldest friend ,” she made gentle fun of her aging body and its memory lapses and aching joints, but appreciated the joys of nature in the birdsong and trees along the way. There’s little that individuals can do to solve the overwhelming problems of our world, but following Lamott’s example to nurture friendships and appreciate the world around us will help shine a light some ways into the darkness.

Joanne Doyle , Salisbury, Md.

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