CONS TO ONLINE DATING

Although online dating has many advantages, there exist disadvantages and dangers associated with online dating.

Misrepresentation

In the movie "Must Love Dogs," the character played by Diane Lane signs up on PerfectMatch.com to try online dating. She finds a man claiming to be young, charming, and good with words. However, when she arrives for her date, she finds out that her date is her dad. How shocking and disturbing! Jane Ganahl wrote an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the issue of lying. "Lying is now apparently a cheerfully accepted fact of life for online daters" (Ganahl, 2005). This poses serious problems to the legitimacy of online dating, since members can lie about their age, physical attributes, and economic status. 33% of online daters report to having lied (Hill and Walmsley, 2003).

Ulterior Motives

For many Internet users, chat rooms are a source of entertainment that has nothing to do with a soul mate search. They are having fun playing different roles, changing nicknames and pretending to be something they are not. This may traumatize them, and keep them from trying online dating ever again.

Superficiality of virtual settings

The lack of interpersonal communication may present stress and disappointments for the online dater. Human are by nature social and interactive beings. Thus, online relationships may not satisfy their social needs. Human psychology and behavior give rise to issues that may pose barriers to online relationship success. The fact that many people want to move from an online relationship to an offline relationship illustrates the incomplete nature of online relationships (Batstone, David). Although online relationships can provide people with the pleasure of offline relationships, it is lacking in the sense that it is physically real. One cannot commit certain physical actions, such as hugging or kissing, that typify romantic behavior. For this reason, it may be easier to have an online-only friendship than a romance because the role of physical closeness and physical attractiveness is less central in friendship.

Addictive and Time Consuming

There is danger that getting too attached to Internet communication will you lose the ability to notice people around you in the real world. You may come to only value and focus on keeping your imaginary virtual friends. It is not very healthy to spend hours glued to a computer screen. By becoming too addicted to the computer, you are missing out on numerous opportunities to get out into the real world and in outdoor activities that will allow you to meet someone real.



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CONS TO ONLINE DATING Although online dating has many advantages, there exist disadvantages and dangers associated with online dating. Misrepresentation In the movie "Must Love Dogs," the character played by Diane Lane signs up on PerfectMatch.com to try online dating. She finds a man claiming to be young, charming, and good with words. However, when she arrives for her date, she finds out that her date is her dad. How shocking and disturbing! Jane Ganahl wrote an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the issue of lying. "Lying is now apparently a cheerfully accepted fact of life for online daters" (Ganahl, 2005). This poses serious problems to the legitimacy of online dating, since members can lie about their age, physical attributes, and economic status. 33% of online daters report to having lied (Hill and Walmsley, 2003). Ulterior Motives For many Internet users, chat rooms are a source of entertainment that has nothing to do with a soul mate search. They are having fun playing different roles, changing nicknames and pretending to be something they are not. This may traumatize them, and keep them from trying online dating ever again. Superficiality of virtual settings The lack of interpersonal communication may present stress and disappointments for the online dater. Human are by nature social and interactive beings. Thus, online relationships may not satisfy their social needs. Human psychology and behavior give rise to issues that may pose barriers to online relationship success. The fact that many people want to move from an online relationship to an offline relationship illustrates the incomplete nature of online relationships (Batstone, David). Although online relationships can provide people with the pleasure of offline relationships, it is lacking in the sense that it is physically real. One cannot commit certain physical actions, such as hugging or kissing, that typify romantic behavior. For this reason, it may be easier to have an online-only friendship than a romance because the role of physical closeness and physical attractiveness is less central in friendship. Addictive and Time Consuming There is danger that getting too attached to Internet communication will you lose the ability to notice people around you in the real world. You may come to only value and focus on keeping your imaginary virtual friends. It is not very healthy to spend hours glued to a computer screen. By becoming too addicted to the computer, you are missing out on numerous opportunities to get out into the real world and in outdoor activities that will allow you to meet someone real.
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