Small World?
- Friday, November 25 2011 @ 06:09 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,600
I recently heard an older woman scoffing about online dating. “Why do people have to turn to the Internet?” she asked. “When I was growing up, it was perfectly acceptable to find someone from your own town. Your own high school, even! And I came from a class of 300!”
Granted, it was just a typical “In my day...” statement that all people will make at some point, but it got me thinking. Why do we need to broaden our search? If the world is growing ever more crowded, why do we search increasingly greater distances? Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.
First of all, it’s true that historically people frequently met and married people much closer to home. It made more sense for the society at the time - all socializing was pretty much limited to the town limits, so these were the people with whom you probably had the most in common. Even then, there were the occasional people who felt the need to stretch their wings, and they went off to “big cities” to find people more like them.
But consider our society today. First, people move around the country much more frequently, so where you live now is likely not where you grew up. Thus, you’re not tied by the same background. Secondly, think about interests and hobbies. Over time it’s become possible to be interested in an increasingly wide variety of pastimes, and the Internet has only facilitated that. In turn, if you’ve got an obscure hobby, the chances of knowing someone local with the same interest become increasingly small.
Online dating is an excellent way to find people more like yourself, no matter where you live or how obscure your interests are. By doing a simple search, you can find people who have more in common with you instantly than you might through chance meetings over an entire year.
That being said, don’t underestimate the power of simple chemistry. While online dating can certainly shorten a long search, there’s always the chance that you just might find someone down the street, or at work. The world is very big - but don’t be so concerned with the horizon that you miss the path in front of you!
Granted, it was just a typical “In my day...” statement that all people will make at some point, but it got me thinking. Why do we need to broaden our search? If the world is growing ever more crowded, why do we search increasingly greater distances? Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.
First of all, it’s true that historically people frequently met and married people much closer to home. It made more sense for the society at the time - all socializing was pretty much limited to the town limits, so these were the people with whom you probably had the most in common. Even then, there were the occasional people who felt the need to stretch their wings, and they went off to “big cities” to find people more like them.
But consider our society today. First, people move around the country much more frequently, so where you live now is likely not where you grew up. Thus, you’re not tied by the same background. Secondly, think about interests and hobbies. Over time it’s become possible to be interested in an increasingly wide variety of pastimes, and the Internet has only facilitated that. In turn, if you’ve got an obscure hobby, the chances of knowing someone local with the same interest become increasingly small.
Online dating is an excellent way to find people more like yourself, no matter where you live or how obscure your interests are. By doing a simple search, you can find people who have more in common with you instantly than you might through chance meetings over an entire year.
That being said, don’t underestimate the power of simple chemistry. While online dating can certainly shorten a long search, there’s always the chance that you just might find someone down the street, or at work. The world is very big - but don’t be so concerned with the horizon that you miss the path in front of you!
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