Essay Online Social Networking

In her essay, “Digital Dating: Desperation or Necessity?,” Christine Hassler defends online dating from the negative stigma associated with the trend. Despite negative opinion of those who meet their significant other online, Hassler discourages her readers from allowing potential shame result in missed opportunities. Due to the internet’s increased importance in forming connections, digital dating should be utilized as a tool for finding relationships and becoming acquainted with like-minded strangers. Critics can no longer interpret online dating as a last resort for desperate elderlies because of the ingenuity of recent websites (Hassler). Overall, Hassler’s definition of online dating as a tool accurately portrays its practicality; however, her essay does not fully describe the escalated use of the internet among singles or successfully depict its disadvantages, such as the bias she addresses.

Since its inception the internet has affected nearly every aspect of society so it is only natural that it would eventually impact on our most intimate of relationships: romance. In just a short twenty years the internet has nearly revolutionized the dating process and determined who and how we meet each for purposes of establishing both casual and permanent romantic relationships. The internet dating business is one of the few to not only survive but also prosper in these precarious economic times (Carpenter). By 2012, the industry is expected to reach $1.9 billion in consumer sales (D. Card).

Homnack (2015) suggests that “online dating has changed the ways in which interpersonal relationships are developed and maintained” (p. 2); Online daters are granted access to use various platforms through which they can easily meet other singles alike to them. Holloway and Valentine (2003) highlight that “for marginalized people, the internet allows them to meet other people alike to themselves who may not be immediately available in their local social circles” (Pascoe, 2011, p. 9). According to Pascoe (2009a) “young adults especially are at the forefront of developing, using, reworking, and incorporating new media into their dating practices in ways that might be unknown, unfamiliar and sometimes scary to adults” (p. 117). Today, the main

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 phrase “times have changed” is old news. Perhaps the most ever-changing aspect of the world is technology. In today’s world, technology is integrated into every single aspect of our lives: security, healthcare, education, communication, and even online dating. Match.com, eHarmony, Tinder, or OkCupid are apps and websites no longer unknown but common in the dating world. Christine Hassler’s article, “Digital Dating: Desperation or Necessity” explores the reality of online dating in the modern age and brings this new tool into light. Although traditional dating is still relevant and important, online dating has given people an even broader horizon in finding love.

Social network sites (SNSs) such as such as Friendster, CyWorld, and MySpace allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others (Ellison, 2007). These sites could be used for work related situation, romance, connecting with individuals with shared interest, or creating a connection amongst college students. Facebook enables its users to present themselves in an online profile, accumulate ‘‘friends’’ who can post comments on each other’s pages, and view each other’s profiles (Ellison, 2007). Individuals can write on the wall of friends, send private message, comment on posts, as well as chat via instant messaging. Much of the early research on online communities assumed that individuals using these systems would be connecting with others outside their pre-existing social group or location, liberating them to form communities around shared interests, as opposed to shared geography (Ellison, 2007).

Now the love story that was once a dream to experience in person became a love story via Internet. In the article “Online Dating”, Barbara Mantel introduces where online dating first took place, which was at Stanford University in 1959. At the time there was two engineer students who wanted to fulfill a requirement for a class project which lead to the creation of a computer date-matching program. The program was a simple questionnaire that was based on concepts from a Psychology 101 class. It did not take long for others to come up with the idea of finding compatible dates by using these questionnaires. As these sites may help with finding others that sparked interest, there is also another few steps that should be taken before an intimate relationship can develop online. According to a journal called, “Interrelationship between Attachment Styles and Facebook Addiction”, Eroglu explains that there are a few steps that allows a certain connection between the users to become more than just acquaintances. The steps are: orientation, exploratory affective exchange, affective exchange and stable exchange. Orientation is the first step because online profiles reveal the basic information about the users and although it is said that there is “not enough shared information to generate conversation.” This is where exploratory affective exchange

Walters, J. (25 July, 2011). Online dating is eroding humanity. The Guardian. [Web]. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/25/online-dating-love-product

Living in the twenty-first century, we use the internet for a majority of the everyday activities we perform. We use Google or Yahoo to search for information, Amazon or Local Harvest to buy our groceries, and social networks such as, Instagram or Facebook, to connect with people from around the world. The Internet today has transformed the way people believe, comprehend, and connect with the world and has given a new perspective on online dating to many single people. Online dating has become a rapidly growing trend in today’s society, connecting people from thousands of miles away with a simple tweet or direct message (DM), which eventually could lead to video calls and texting, then to meeting each other in person and developing a face-to-face relationship.

While there are many ways to find potential dates online, the use of dating websites – websites specifically oriented toward helping people looking for romance – is increasing rapidly and has become a common used means of finding potential romantic, or sexual partners (Ellen, 2009). In U.S survey of general public, only fifteen percent said they knew someone who had been in a long-term relationship with, or married, someone they met online (Madden & Lenhart, 2006). To participate in most online dating websites, an individual registers by providing basic or personal information, filling out a profile indicating desired mate preferences, and sometimes completing personality tests. Most websites offer their

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).

Online social networking is a relatively recent phenomenon of the internet. Online social networks have permeated their ways into millions of peoples’ lives. People create digital identities of themselves, updating and maintaining their online

Business and Human Services organizations all over the world try to look for different ways to improve and be successful. One of the ways organizations have been able to maintain success is by networking and linking themselves with similar organizations. A website that provides organizations with this type of networking is LinkedIn. In week two I was given the task to research and understand why such sites as LinkedIn help human service organizations stay connected with their professional community and other human service professionals. In addition to researching how these sites enhance more quality services and support and how additional training keeps you up to date and competitive against other organizations.

With technology steadily being advanced and increasing in today’s society, individuals advanced too. One example is dating now versus the past. Individuals in today’s society hope to find companionship through online dating websites such as eHarmony, Match, Christian Mingle, Black People Meet, Farmers Only, and so on. Finding a partner seems to be easier and more convenient than ever. While online dating is not new and has been around for years, it has had a dramatic increase in popularity over the past few years. The 1960s marked the start of online dating and since then has evolved into a more common method of pursuing someone. In a study conducted by the University of Chicago’s psychologist John Cacioppo, “between 2005 and 2012 more than one third of couples who got married in the United States met through an online dating site” (qtd Ansari 79). The concept of meeting people without face to face interaction is something that is more than appealing to some as a result of being shy or having anxiety issues. When searching for a companionship through online dating websites, aspects such as an excessive amount of profiles to choose from, self-presentation, and different perceptions of online dating play a significant role.

Technology is a key part of humanity’s evolution. Due to this, as time goes on, people have continually relied on technology to serve the role which most people have given it: to make everyone’s lives easier. As such, in the case of dating, the whole act is perceived to be performed better in the virtual reality of the Internet and achieve the same goal as traditional dating. This has been proven true in recent studies. According to Paul (2014), according to research made by eHarmony.com, a third of the population’s recent marriages started through the internet (664). This information shows how much people have taken up the new trend and actually succeed in having a marital