Dating and the 21st Century
A long, long time ago, way before any of us were born, the postal service was one of the busiest industries around. Imagine millions of letters passing through the post offices. Many were written by lovers-both young and old! And long before everybody had a phone, people sent letters to people they loved and missed! Now the Internet has changed all that. Not only has the Internet changed the way people communicate with each other but it has also revolutionized the way dating works. Back in the dark ages in 1994 when I met my husband through a news group feed on a local bulletin board system, my friends and family were convinced I was a nutter.
One of the best perks that stemmed out of the Internet is that people from around the world can (and do) meet each other. Whether it’s through instant email or live or cam chat, there’s no waiting days or even weeks for a letter to arrive. We don’t need to meet somebody physically or face to face to make friends with them. I’ve never been in the same room with quite a few “best friends” from around the world. Before my husband and I met, we had quite a few dates online. They felt real and important to both of us.
It’s little wonder that we went on to create a dating site on the web as soon as it became available in Orlando and Melbourne. The Internet paved the way for our relationship and then we enabled heaps more people to meet and date potential mates online! The rise of online dating has not replaced traditional dating but it’s just another method of meeting. People no longer must rely on only meeting people through friends, in bars or in other public places. And we also no longer wait on letters or phone calls to talk to the ones we like. Online dating has become a practical medium to meet people without the hassle of pre date jitters. It offers a lot of options for people to meet.
Meeting someone new in person is fun but for someone shy, there’s the fear of appearing awkward and not able to show how nifty they really are. With online meet-ups, things become easier. When people meet each other for the first time online, the anonymity of the net is like wearing a uniform. It gives you confidence you wouldn’t otherwise have. We become bolder. We get into the “getting to know you” stage much quicker allowing a relationship to move things to the next level. They could either decide to meet each personally, no matter the distance. That’s what happened to us!
I’m constantly amazed by how the Internet has changed people’s lives. I remember driving into the Atlanta airport one day and seeing the airport’s web address on a billboard. It was the biggest “aha” moment for us because we knew if something as big as the Atlanta airport - the largest airport in the world - was embracing this thing called the Internet, it was going to take off like nothing we’d ever encountered. So we’ve gone from me being the nutter in Georgia going to meet this geek she met through a local bulletin board system to nearly every person in the world connected. I just visited Atlanta last week. I saw people connecting to the net in airports everywhere. Laptops, Blackberries, iPhones - whatever - they were connected.
LIKE THIS?
