Effects of Online Dating on Society

1866 Words4 Pages

Technology has become a huge part of everyday life in today’s society. Everywhere you look someone is using their smart phone, computer, or tablet. Technology has become a primary means of communication for most people. Why would meeting new people and dating be any different? A concept of meeting people without the face to face interaction is something that is more than appealing to a large group of people. While this concept is not new and has been around for years, it has had a dramatic increase over the past few years. According to a study done by Patti M. Valkenburg and Jochen Peter the number of dating sites has increased by 17% in the past two years and about 37% of single Americans that use the internet have gone to a dating site (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007).While everyone has their opinion about what these online sites are doing to our society, it is proven that over one third of just Americans are using or have used a dating website.

While the popularity of online dating users has continued to raise so has the market for this type of industry. An online dating magazine article by Joe Tracy states that there are approximately 2,500 online dating sites in the United States and more than 5,000 worldwide (Tracy, 2012). While some of these sites are general and for everyone to use, there are sites that are specific to certain age, race, sexuality, or even specific areas of interests. Some of these sites include ourtime.com, blackpeoplemeet.com, and even farmersonly.com. These sites are meant to attract only specific people and are popular through several different advertisements such as the radio or television commercials. While Tracy states that there are a large number of online dating sites not only in the United States b...

... middle of paper ...

....

Works Cited

Crossman, A. (2011). Functionalist Theory . Retrieved from About Sociology .

Crossman, A. (2011, June 22). Symbolic Interactionism . Retrieved from About Sociology .

Crossman, A. (2014). Charles Horton Cooley . Retrieved from About Sociology .

Crossman, A. (2014). George Herbert Mead . Retrieved from About Sociology .

Fiore, A. T., & Donath, J. S. (2005). Homophily in Online Dating: When Do You Like Someone Like Yourself . MIT Media Laboratory , 1-4.

Hancock, J. T., Toma, C., & Ellison, N. (2007). The Truth about Lying in Online Dating Profiles. Online Representation of Self , 449-452.

Tracy, J. (2012, March 22). Online Dating Magazine website . Retrieved from Online daiting magazine .

Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2007). Who Visits Online Dating Sites? Exploring Characteristics of Online Daters . Cyber Psychology and Behavior , 849-852.

Open Document