By: Lindsey Dunn

Although online dating, at times, gets mixed opinions, there is significant evidence that these sites and applications do yield success. Online Dating Statistics: Dating Stats from 2017, an article from Zoosk.com, gives a few facts that can help stay optimistic when thinking about trying online dating. These include…

• 19% of brides met spouses online
• Couples that meet online often get married quickly
• Online marriages are more likely to survive the first year (Matthews, 2017)

For some proof that the algorithms used in these dating sites and applications really do work, below are a few success stories from real people.

By: Kylee Czerwinski

Many people question the reliability behind dating Web sites. There is often a negative connotation behind the idea of finding a real, long-lasting relationship online. Though this is a fair concern to have, due to the fact that there can be dangers when meeting people online such as “catfishing,” many people still have found success on the Internet dating adventure. CNBC claimed that Consumer Reports showed that 44 percent of people on an online dating Web site found a serious long-term relationship and in some cases, marriage (Dickler, 2017).

In today’s world, technology is so prevalent that it has become easier for people to just search for a soulmate online rather than meeting someone in person the authentic way. It has also been proved that meeting someone online often times leads to a happier relationship. Because of all of the different options online dating supplies a person with, singles naturally become more and more picky with the matches received online. People now have the ability to browse multiple relationships at leisure and decide which person is the best fit to pursue.

By: Shannon Cooney

Bumble is one of the most popular dating applications in today’s society.  Bumble was launched in December 2014 and is recently celebrating over five hundred million first moves. Bumble is more than just a dating application, it is a movement for healthy relationships and women empowerment. The site promotes women empowerment because after a couple has matched, the women have to take the initiative to start a conversation. CEO Whitney Wolfe, also founder of Tinder, created Bumble with the intentions of changing the online dating game. Wolfe states, “It’s not a dating app, it’s a movement. This could change the way women and men treat each other, women and men date, and [how] women feel about themselves” (Wolfe, 2014).

By: Jennie Scavone

When a person is deciding what dating Web site or application is best, the user has to consider many different factors: interests, location, convenience, etc. Another way to filter out one’s dating profile preferences is by sexual orientation.  

By: Kylee Czerwinski

As a single, beginning the adventure of online dating, the question of “what type of person do I see myself with?” often arises. Luckily, there are hundreds of dating sites that focus on very specific markets. For example, a farmer may decide to pursue a relationship through FarmersOnly.com, a dating channel made specifically for people who live and/or work on a farm (FarmersOnly, 2005-2019), while a person who is over six feet tall may look for love on TallFriends.com, a dating site designed for the vertically inclined population (TallFriends.com, 2001-2019). Though it may seem humorous that there are user specific Web sites, the question still lingers about whether the sites are actually beneficial for people trying to find a lifelong partner.

By: Lindsey Dunn

People often have a variety of preferences on the types of people met through online dating, but does allowing racial preferences reinforce divisions and biases in society?

Online dating Web sites and dating apps allow users to filter preferences by race and use specific algorithms that are reinforcing racial divisions among those choosing to use these platforms. Sexual racism, because of this, has gained the modern definition of “racial prejudice that is disguised as “just a preference” on dating apps and in real-life social settings” (Cunningham, 2018, para. 7).

By: Katie Canter

Dating profiles are the first page a potential match will see on any online dating service.  The user’s profile is the most important when beginning to online date. This task is not taken lightly, as one-in-five online daters have asked someone else to help create or review a profile to make sure the user’s image is well represented (Smith & Anderson, 2016).  Online daters want to ensure the profile reflects the user best or includes information that would attract a preferred mate. To help the users, online dating services publish Web pages that provide information about specific dating application profiles and overarching rules to follow when making a dating profile.

By: Jennie Scavone

According to Urban Dictionary, the term “catfishing” is “a fake or stolen online identity created or used for the purpose of beginning a deceptive relationship,” (Urban Dictionary, 2017). “Catfishing” is a relatively new term that has been introduced to the world of online dating as technology began to advance. The term “catfish” was invented through the Music Television, MTV,documentary series, “Catfish”, hosted by Nev Schulman, a victim of “catfishing”. The show follows different people in online relationships that suspect that the person on the other side of the screen is not real (Vanman, 2018). 

By: Shannon Cooney

“No surprise there; everyone wants love. And if technology can make it that much easier to find The One, why not use a dating app?” (Schmidt 2017 – P. #1)

In society today we live in a digital age, where people are constantly up to date with recent news and are repeatedly checking digital devices to stay up to speed. According to a recent survey there are about 3.77 billion global Internet users today, which is about 50 percent of the world’s population (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). With that being said, the Internet plays a huge role in people’s lives. Perhaps the Internet’s largest effect is the decision whether or not individuals chose to use online dating. It is the second most popular way to possibly meet a future spouse (The Economist, 2018). Online dating has made socializing and connecting with people a lot easier to do for introverted individuals, making online dating a new era.

By: Katie Canter

Struggling to decide which dating application to use is one of the hardest parts of entering the online dating world.

Online dating can be overwhelming since each dating application and Web site offers slightly different features, there are many factors to consider.  People either strictly use one form of online dating or use multiple simultaneously.