First Comes Social Networking, Then Comes Marriage?

Online dating has altered the process used for obtaining a romantic partner as well as has altered the process of compatibility matching. Online dating has created a new platform for meeting potential partners. Romantic relationships contribute to emotional well-being and individuals crave the intimate connections that are formed through their romantic partnerships; it is a fundamental part of human motivation. These dating sites have created a medium for potential partners to meet by alleviating the daunting task of conventional dating by solving the problems such as lack of access to potential partners, confronting potential partners regarding their romantic availability, and gathering the courage to approach strangers face to face (Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis, & Sprecher, 2012).

Ansari refers to a study called “Geographic Proximity of Partners in 5,000 Marriages, Philadelphia, 1932,” which reveals that 51.94% of people who were married in this study lived within 20 blocks of one another before they began dating, (15). These numbers are just one example Ansari gives to prove his point on just how different dating was in past generations, as roughly half of all people were simply marrying someone within close proximity to them. And it goes deeper than basic proximity. According to C.L Harrington, “Those who monitor trends in marriage, divorce, and intimacy note that the ideal of love in America appears to be undergoing gradual but significant change, and the reasons for it are hard to grasp.” Nowadays, dating is not so easy. With cities becoming so large and the people becoming more specific to their dating preferences, Ansari argues that online dating is becoming more than just a last-ditch option.

Firstly, by using technology, it allows for individuals to interact over the web with other people. Encountering people using technology is an undeniably common way of discovering partners and receiving the chance to constantly message and exchange emails, permitting a better connection to build a relationship. The internet, through many dating websites, has helped many people discover others, who then would impact their lives greatly and soon be apart of it. A study found that, “More than one third of U.S. marriages begin with online dating, and those couples may be slightly happier than

With technology, we are granted an infinite amount of ways to connect with people around the world and that ultimately affect our romantic relationships for better and for worse. Even after Aziz Ansari’s years of incorporating personal romantic complications into his stand-up comedy, he decided that complaining about the challenges and pitfalls of looking for love in the Digital Age through Match.com, OkCupid, Tinder, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site, wasn’t enough; he wanted answers. Ansari teamed up with New York University sociologist Eric Klinenberg to better understand how people seek romantic partners, how technology has changed the search for a mate, and how instant communication has opened up an infinite amount of options. Their research included: interviews and focus groups, analyses of past and current behavioral data, plus discussions with leading sociologists. Ansari’s work payed off, allowing him the insight needed to craft his memoir: Modern Romance. Effectively combining sociology with humor, this memoir is highly recommended for fans of Ansari, readers interested in the social media’s impact on relationships, or even singles looking to up their game.

The epitome of a Good Life is the strong relationships humans are able to construct over time, but this can be affected by social media. Even though it connects individuals around the globe, social media can have a devastating effect on the establishment of communication in solid relationships. In Robert Waldinger’s “What makes a Good Life,” TED talk, he believes strong relationships are the framework of achieving a good life. Dr. Waldinger debates that the development of inter-social relationships could highly influence our life in a healthy manner, more than wealth and career success could. The need for relationships is seen through: (a) the Harvard Study, and (b) a healthy lifestyle. Clive Thompson’s article, “A Brave New World: I’m so Totally Digitally Close to You,” discusses how social media has revolutionized the way our community interacts. Instead of having one-to-one interaction with someone in person, now with just a “tweet” or “DM” a person easily contacts another person. He argues that the advancements of technology have led to our society developing an endless addiction to

With the digital revolution, people’s relationships are changing. Today, people are no longer required to leave their house to form a new relationship with someone else. “Texting and Writing” by Michaela Cullington describes the impact that text messaging has on the communication skills of people today. Alexis Madrigal in his article “Take the Data Out of Dating” portrays the methods of online date matching. With modern technology and the use of online matching, relationships no longer require face-to-face communication, lack personal emotions, and create a convenient relationship environment.

A study by Rosenfeld and Thomas (2012) observed that 22% of the United States population had found their partner online and that the internet was the third most likely means of meeting a partner for heterosexual couples in 2009 (Rosenfeld & Thomas, 2012). Similar studies have found that 38% of those who are single and looking for a partner have used online dating sites or mobile dating apps (Lenhart & Duggan, 2014). Therefore, the use of digital media in the search for romantic partners is becoming increasingly common. This thesis makes a contribution to this field of study by focusing on how digital media facilitates new ways

This week in class, we talked about the rise of our social lives online and the how the Internet is leading to our social world to be both smaller, as it creates shorter paths to other individuals, and with a wider reach, as it connects us to friends from all over the world. In “Separating Fact from Fiction: An Examination of Deceptive Self-Presentation in Online Dating Profiles” done by Toma, Hancock, and Ellison, further expands on this idea by discussing how the rise of our online social lives has also changed the our romantic lives.

In today's world, the expectations to fall in love have perhaps become "online". This is because dating sites are no more regarded as a tricky way for getting in touch with and bonding with new people. Instead, online dating is now gaining immense popularity as information technologies and digital media have congregated. The contemporary virtual social media has increased the evolution from vital matchmaking sites to sites that make it possible for anyone to "date" in reality online without even leaving their places. Even though face-to-face dating has not disappeared completely, the social media has enhanced the process of online dating tremendously (Brown, 2011).

The article "The Influence of Technology on The Initiation of Interpersonal Relationships." was written by Jeffrey S and McQuillen. This articles provides information and discuses about the increase rate of online relationships, the impact of technology and technology mediated communication on social and interpersonal relationships.

According to psychologist James say, “Couple who met online are nearly 3 times as likely to get divorced as couple that met face to face”

It is becoming more frequent in today’s society to utilize social media to connect and stay in touch with others. In fact, one could say that social media has become an everyday part of our lives. More than 800 million individuals use Facebook daily (Fox & Anderegg, 2014). It is therefore of great significance, that one gives awareness to how the frequency of social media usage can affect our romantic relationships. This study consists of analyzing the amount of time one spends on Facebook and if the amount of time has an effect on the relationship satisfaction. Previous studies have gone over the aspects of the activities and concepts among individuals that can cause negative relationship outcomes but these studies have not extended beyond the concept of frequency. Moreover, previous research has suggested that individuals’ attachment status, individuals who have Facebook–related conflict, individuals who were in shorter term relationships, and individuals who have certain ideas of what normal behavior is when getting to know someone on the website can end up predicting negative relationship outcomes (Clayton, Nagurney, & Smith, 2013).

My generation has grown up with technology in our hands since we were toddlers. We are dependent on technology, from Iphones, Laptops,tablets, ipods, even watches that keep us connected to a never ending supply of distant connection. Social media is the source of many problems in our society. One of the problems is the lack of communication in a relationship. One misconception about social media is that it has the ability to strengthen a relationship because you have another avenue of communication when in fact it is detrimental, due to lack of intimate interaction between two people. Social media not only takes away face to face interactions, but it leads to trust issues, cheating and a lack of confrontation.

by CMC, all forms of CMC should be studied. This paper examines Cummings et al.’s

In today's post-modern society, dating practices are both vast and varied. People meet their romantic partners in any number of locations including at work, at the bar, and increasingly, on the Internet. Online dating has become very popular over the past decade, and according to a study done in Washington DC, over 74% of single Internet users in the US have taken part in at least one online dating-related activity. In addition, this study found that 15% of American adults (that's 30 million people) say that they know someone who has been in a long-term relationship with a partner they met online (Biever, 2006).