There is no doubt that we live in an increasingly fast paced world. I believe that there is more emphasis on people furthering their career and as a result, less on being in a relationship. I believe that online dating sites are so appealing to people now is because it allows people to meet and form a connection without really requiring a lot of time commitment. However there are a lot of setbacks with online dating sites. The most interesting problem I learning about was the hyperpersonal effect defined by the ABC article, Does Online Dating Work? as “a tendency to idealize people based on the bits and pieces of information they share.” I believe this is a major problem with my generation. I have personally known people who have met someone online only to be disappointed when they actually meet in person.
After reading a post by Emily H in the class stating that the reason younger people don’t use online dating sites anymore is probably because we have more means of meeting people. Emily H states “We still have lots of different ways to meet people, in classes, out on the weekends, clubs and RSO's, and even after college while we are starting our new careers.” Meeting people in these times of situations would eliminate the hyperpersonal effect so I started thinking of other ways to eliminate this effect. I looked up common ways of meeting people and came across a site that suggested speed dating (http://www.ehow.com/info_8246995_other-people-besides-online-dating.html) as an option.
I believe that speed dating is a great alternative to online dating. It still requires little time for those of us who are busy with work, school, ect. However, speed dating eliminates the hyperpersonal effect since two people meet right away and false expectations decrease and there can be no idealization one what a person looks like. I am a big believer in personal chemistry and the only way to see if there is any connection between two people is to meet in person. Speed dating allows this without allowing an individual to falsely fantasize about someone. I posted a discussion on speed dating to see what other classmates thought about it. Anthony M brought up a good point and stated that speed dating may have some issues because there is such short time (or window) to actually connect with a person. A few other classmates also brought up a good point that speed dating is based a lot on physical appearance and therefore is not an effective means of meeting people. I believe though that physical appearance is important in a relationship and it is better to find out if one is attracted to a person at the very beginning rather than forming a relationship online and being disappointed when they meet. If I had to use any dating venue (online or not) I would be most comfortable with speed dating.
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