It’s clear that few areas of life have been or will be left untouched by the Internet. Using the Internet, and without ever leaving their house, a person can buy groceries (and have them delivered), pay their taxes, get medical advice – even “attend church“. The idea of online dating is nothing new, but, as the author of an interesting new piece at Today’s Christian Woman admits, she once thought “losers do this kind of thing.” Now she’s been dating someone for 19 months she met on eHarmony. With more than 25 million unique users per month, online dating has gone mainstream.
There certainly have to be some advantages (at least perceived), or else no one would be doing it. But is it a good thing overall?
The author quotes Second Nature co-founder and Editorial Board Chairman, Read Mercer Schuchardt on some of his concerns:
Wheaton College media ecologist Read Schuchardt is concerned about the implicit messages that dating sites send, especially those like eHarmony that claim to find your “ideal match.” These sites feed the illusion, Schuchardt said, “that the perfect one is ‘out there’ and all you have to do is find them through this fine-toothed comb called online dating. The reality is just the opposite — no matter who you find, it will take a lifetime of sacrifice and accommodation to learn how to tolerate living with the other while they attempt to learn how to tolerate living with you.”
I�m impressed