Online dating applications are popular nowadays, and with the emergence of technology, it is now everywhere in this highly technological society. The trend had its early beginnings in the 1960s with only a matchmaking IBM computer service; this day, prominent applications bloomed such as Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, OkCupid, and Tinder. Today, the industry continues to grow exponentially as it already pervaded the lives of romantic digital natives. However, its effects in retrospect are still subject to public scrutiny. Given its prevalence, does it do more harm than good? Or is it the other way around?
Affirmative:
- Dating apps are tailor-made to make matches between people to their ideal partners. It serves as an avenue for people to connect and interact with their potential partners in life. Some netizens use dating apps with hopes of meeting their true love. For them, dating is more convenient because the app already has an algorithm that automatically links them to the person who has the same interests and preferences. More importantly, there are already numerous marriages that emanated from the former.
- Furthermore, since cyberspace is an inclusive environment that is composed of a wide array of social personalities, it bolsters the confidence of a particular netizen because of its collaborative and reactionary features. It showcases every picture and posts that a user uploads which then entice the attention of netizens all around the world. It also gives opportunities to some especially the shy ones to mingle with the online environment which empowers their social image in the long run.
Negative
- Like a two-sided coin, dating apps can be detrimental too. Its accessibility and popularity can lead to the uncertainty of the account users. Catfishing is rampant nowadays. Frauds can manipulate genuine relationship-longing people into investing such monetary and moral support which would only degrade one’s buoyancy and self-assurance in the long run. Given the unpredictability of the cyber-world, malevolent acts can happen such as identity theft and coercion. There are several cases already which involve duplicitous accounts that deceive people.
- In the context of true love, others only want short-term, superficial relationships. It can glorify insincerity for a reason that one is only virtually redirected to others based on the user’s social image. As it boosts others’ confidence, it can also degrade other’s self-esteem and might lead to cyber-bullying. It perpetuates and establishes a standard of physical appearance. Since the online dating world is visual, it makes sense that people will put more emphasis on their physical attributes or even create a misleading image of themselves just to attract or worse swindle others.
