The power of technology has grown to be very gargantuan in this 4th Industrial Revolution to the point that it shapes our lives. Many people own a device of some sort, and the internet has become a platform for people to connect and build relationships; some to the extent that can be categorized as online love relationships.
My perspective on people who date online is that it’s like a double-edged sword.
Dating online is like the normal type of dating, but blindfolded; you can feel the same euphoric feelings, you can say and hear all those sweet and lovely words, but you can’t see what’s actually happening. You don’t know if you are facing the love of your life, or the murderer of your life who’s just using those words they’ve said as a mask, and as a spell to deceive you. As long as the word ‘online’ in online dating still exists in the relationship, you can’t open that blindfold.
Furthermore, teenagers can be said to be more ‘vulnerable’ than the older generations. Almost all teenagers have the access to the internet, including the ability to online date. Teenagers are most likely going to be interested in and intrigued by dating, which is normal. However, not all teenagers know the cruel veracity of online dating. Whether or not the person you ‘online date’ is actually the person they claim they are, online financial scams, identity and data theft, being drugged, and potentially murder, rape or death when the two ‘online lovebirds’ finally meet in person; these are all menaces of online dating.
Thus, the art of online dating is very similar to the art of normal dating, it just has the added element of risk with its danger level covering a wide spectrum.The internet widens your opportunities, and it enables people, regardless of age, to meet people of various backgrounds. People have different tastes in what they look for in their significant other. The internet allows them to meet different people, and hopefully find a person who can be that missing puzzle piece in their life and heart. The question is; is that puzzle piece actually there? Or is it just you feeling that it is complete?
Nevertheless, when two people meet, they can communicate through various platforms, be it WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram or any other social media applications. Once feelings (virtually) spark, the relationship can proceed to the online dating stage. They talk and communicate, say (and virtually do) all those things a normal couple would say (and do). Yes, they can still feel all those feelings of joy just like a normal couple would. However, as I said, online lovebirds are blindfolded. They can only see the truth and reality once that ‘online’ does not exist anymore, that is when they meet in person. Nonetheless, if the relationship does take a good turn, then it can proceed to greater things, which is hopefully the blissful life they always wanted to have with a significant other.
