For one of my other sociology classes this quarter, we had to write a paper that looked at online dating and we were asked to look at some popular dating sites and view profiles of their members. I went to match.com because it was the only legitimate dating site that I could think of that didn’t make you fill out a huge personality questionnaire to see the profiles. Anyway, I was kind of surprised to find there are a ton of young people subscribed to be on it and that a lot of them seemed to be using the site as a way to meet people that they could just hang out with. Many said that they had just moved to the bay area and wanted someone who could show them around.
I think being able to connect with people is an important part of our lives. Sometimes an online community is that method of connection for someone, for whatever reason. The eHarmony website said that it is responsible for 5% of new marriages in the U.S. Whether that statistic is true or not, I have no idea but, if it is true, it goes to show that people are able to make lasting and meaningful connections online.
I guess technology has made it easier to stay in touch with people without having to actually see them face to face. I know for me personally, it’s so much easier to text someone than to call them or meet up with them. That way I can be doing other things while talking to them. I still love hanging out with my friends and actually getting to do stuff with them but it’s getting harder to find time in our schedules where we are free at the same time. It also makes it so much easier to stay in contact with people who have moved away for college or work or whatever since I am finding it increasingly harder to stay connected with people when we’re all going in different directions.
Maybe technology is not a good or bad thing, maybe it’s just different. When I’m busy with my life and don’t really have time to hang out with friends, it makes me feel better to be able to talk with them over text and stay somewhat connected in each other’s lives. It also helps people connect with each other who may be looking for a certain community to belong to. For example, in class we learned about fan and slash fiction and we read a story that was posted in an online fan fiction website. Without these types of communities, the people who write these stories would probably not be able to express themselves, possibly from the fear of being judged by people around them. For them, online communities provide a safe outlet for them to post what they want and have it viewed by others who are interested in what they are doing. However, it may be best to take online communities with a grain of salt because we don’t really know who we are talking to and what their intentions are.
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