Online Dating: Have We, As A Society, Become Lazy?
If you're anything like me, you're probably pondering the same question I have been struggling with for the past few years. Where are all the good men hiding? And why has it become so hard to find love? While it might sound a little silly, I can assure you that these are legitimate questions.
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 9 in 10 Americans are currently active online daters. Have we, as a society, become lazy? Is it not the norm anymore to meet people organically? Why do we have this sudden fascination with using technology to meet people? Please tell me. Is it the safety we may feel, being able to hide behind a screen and communicate with others without fear of rejection? According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, one third of the people who have actually used online dating sites have never even gone on a date with a person they met on a site. So my question is this: Are we only using online dating sites for the satisfaction of knowing we matched with others and that there are people out there who are interested in us? Because clearly we are not actually taking the time to go out with many of these people.
Maybe we've all fallen victim to an epidemic of low self-esteem. The fear of rejection, hiding behind computer/phone screens, not actually going out with people we meet on online dating sites, etc. can support this, right? Maybe the media has played too big of a role in our lives. Maybe we have been affected more than we realize. Whatever the case, I think we all need a bit of a reality check.
We, as a society, need to build our self-esteem back up. Maybe the reason it seems so hard to find someone to love these days is because we don't love ourselves the way that we should. When people gain more self-confidence, they find it easier to communicate with people. They feel more worthy of the attention of others and, therefore, will receive more attention back. The "fake it 'til you make it" logic, however, does not apply here. We need to believe we are worthy, or else it won't work.
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 9 in 10 Americans are currently active online daters. Have we, as a society, become lazy? Is it not the norm anymore to meet people organically? Why do we have this sudden fascination with using technology to meet people? Please tell me. Is it the safety we may feel, being able to hide behind a screen and communicate with others without fear of rejection? According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, one third of the people who have actually used online dating sites have never even gone on a date with a person they met on a site. So my question is this: Are we only using online dating sites for the satisfaction of knowing we matched with others and that there are people out there who are interested in us? Because clearly we are not actually taking the time to go out with many of these people.
Maybe we've all fallen victim to an epidemic of low self-esteem. The fear of rejection, hiding behind computer/phone screens, not actually going out with people we meet on online dating sites, etc. can support this, right? Maybe the media has played too big of a role in our lives. Maybe we have been affected more than we realize. Whatever the case, I think we all need a bit of a reality check.
We, as a society, need to build our self-esteem back up. Maybe the reason it seems so hard to find someone to love these days is because we don't love ourselves the way that we should. When people gain more self-confidence, they find it easier to communicate with people. They feel more worthy of the attention of others and, therefore, will receive more attention back. The "fake it 'til you make it" logic, however, does not apply here. We need to believe we are worthy, or else it won't work.
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