Exploring Trend of Internet Dating - Essay Example

The accessibility of online dating sites is masking more sensitive issues in the society, and thus, restrictions in the member's age, the purpose of signing in, and advertisements posted through a reviewed dating site rules and possibly, government intervention.

The audience of Internet Dating

          Dating sites could provoke more sensitive issues prevailing in society. As more people are provided with easier access to the internet, the more chances there is that discrimination would happen, may it be racial or physical. Furthermore, sexual partners from the internet, with an emphasis on those who engage in casual sex, may be an accepted societal notion and thus will have more effects on other sectors, particularly reproductive health. It is much to the interest of the dating site users which this paper explores since it deliberates on the impact of such activity in a broader sense.

International Marriages Through Online Dating and Its Underlying Social Implications

          It must be exciting to think that dating sites are expanding the user’s thoughts about racial identity. In the varied selection of potential mates, Caucasians, Black Americans, Asians, and all others are not classified. In other words, the internet seems to have more room for racial acceptance than racial discrimination. However, what Warchaur found out could be intriguingly opposite to this notion. According to Turkle, “interracial marriages make racial identity more subjective and multiple; the anonymous, multi-channeled communication facilitated by the Internet deepens this trend toward multiple subjective identities” (qtd. in Warchaur). In other words, the anonymity of the members of the dating site would reject possible personal differences and their attitudes would be completely reliant on their race. Although the internet can be a good venue for true globalization to prosper, dating site users are not spared from the subjective generalization of their race. A member may have filled out their profile honestly, but this does not mean that members as such comprise 100% of the site. The truth is, there are members who lie, and this thought is so common that no matter how well-written the profile information is, the racial background still counts (e.g. Black Americans are stereotyped as violent). Because of existing racial stereotypes and the inaccessibility of face-to-face encounters, dating sites are prone to discrimination.

          Attractiveness is also a major issue in internet dating rather than focusing on the abstract qualities of a person. In research conducted by Hitsch, Hortacsu, and Ariely with internet dating site users in the United States, the attractive mate prospects get the most number of replies and views than their less physically attractive counterparts. Electronic mail responses are more frequent to physically attractive members (16). As expected, physically attractive men and women are very selective in their potential partners on dating sites. While 40% of average men get responses from average women, the contrast is true for attractive men and women. It has been found out that the least attractive members are “2-4 times more likely to send a first-contact e-mail to a man than the most attractive women” (17).

          Racial issues, sexual abuse, and self-esteem are at stake in the growing trend of e-dating. If the restrictions should be out of hand, then the users are in danger of suffering these consequences. The leniency of the government when it comes to internet control could have been the main culprit of this event. Registering these online sites just like any business firm would somehow alleviate the problem. Through registering, the government would have a clearer view of what the site is about and would have more manageable ways to monitor these sites. On the other hand, it could make the member’s profiles less private; but privacy can always be controlled if it is for the common good. Second, age should be one of the greatest concerns of dating sites. A member can actually cheat his age to appear that he passed the required age limit of the site; this one has to be looked upon and could be a valid reason for registering online dating sites. This is one of the reasons why dating sites to be registered; to avoid fraud customers who convince the dating site runners that he or she is of legal age. Third, the list of purposes should not include “casual encounters” because having this on the site would mean that it tolerates vulgar sexual content. Having these implemented would somehow lessen sexual violence and discrimination.

Conclusion

          Although it is true that there is no barrier for love to come, users of dating sites should be more cautious and responsible. The existence of internet pornography via dating sites is becoming usual that it has rather become an internet norm. Issues of racial discrimination, something which people have fought against, are hidden within the excitement and willingness of having a long-distance relationship, much so with valuing what one really wants for a partner. Profile pictures basically become the basis of internet users to select a potential date, which could be alienating to the less attractive users. The use of internet dating sites should be to connect people around the world in search of a potentially lasting relationship, and not a venue to continue discrimination and sexual violence in cyberspace.