Dating & Social Networks

Online dating sites have been around for a long time, and although they have evolved over time, popularity has not waned. People want to find a partner, someone to love and share their lives with. The nature of the Internet is highly interactive, and it provides an easy way to get to know another person from the privacy of your own home without making a commitment. Global reach means location is no longer a factor-if you can?t find someone suitable nearby, you have the whole world to choose from. The advent of social networking, however, has significantly changed the way people are interacting online, and online dating sites are being transformed as a result.

One of the biggest drawbacks of many online dating sites is the potential for dishonesty and the ability to hide many aspects of one?s true self. Even if this is not done with malice or deliberate intent to deceive, because they exist for the primary purpose of dating and finding a romantic relationship, online dating sites encourage people to only show their best features. This leads to distorted perceptions and unrealistic expectations. Another drawback is lack of accountability and support from family and friends. In healthy relationships you get feedback and support from family and friends that help create a more comprehensive picture of the individual you are dating and how the relationship is progressing. Online dating sites also tend to categorize people, leading users to focus on a perception of who they might want to date rather than allowing that to develop naturally from a broad group of people.

For a relationship to succeed, several components should be present. Partners need to communicate on a range of issues, both positive and negative. The relationship needs to develop across a range of factors, shared interests, companionship needs, emotional and intellectual aspects, attitudes about life and worldview.

Technology Assisting Local Dating

Here is where social networking comes in. Sites like Facebook promote development of relationships where family and friends are actively involved. Twitter, in spite of character limitations, provides opportunities to get to know people through shared interests and common causes. Although social networking can be global, it tends to draw people together more locally. Google has recognized the human inclination to want to find what they are looking for within a 15-mile radius, and are marketing Local Search as a benefit to small business. The same is true when it comes to relationships. Meeting someone via social networking increases the probability of meeting someone who is local. While it may seem like a great idea to be able to find love halfway across the world, there is a huge draw to being able to date someone without having to get on an airplane.

With social networking, people tend to be far more honest about who they are, what they think, and what they look like, since they are not trying to impress a potential first date. Not only that, but the linking feature means that when you meet someone on a social network, they are going to immediately look you up on other social networking sites. Your online persona, or what is increasingly being called online personal branding, becomes far more comprehensive and honest than what is available through a dating site.

Social Networking within Friends

Not only are relationships developing naturally by means of social networking, online dating sites like the free dating site Badoo are starting to operate like a social networking site, where groups of friends sign up and link to each other?s profiles. Similar to face-to-face relationships, through social networking, people are becoming friends first then allowing a romantic relationship to develop naturally. Even failed dates can turn into long-time friendships. Social networking is turning online dating into a process that far more closely resembles the way people have traditionally and successfully found love ? offline.

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This article was written by a Social Network Enthusiast.

Source: http://www.thecrimsoncrow.com/2012/03/dating-social-networks/

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