Online Dating in 2011

I came across this (LINK) article today at Clutch Mag, clearly they're one of my faves. Anyway,  it talked about the rising popularity of online dating. It hit home for me because well...I met my boyfriend on facebook. To me, it's a little different than lookin for love on an online dating site. I didn't register for facebook with the sole purpose of finding a mate. It's actually something I never thought I would do. It just worked out that way because he actually went to the neighboring University, so we were able to take it offline and meet up in person.

 Initially I was a little wary of going on a date with someone who I met initially on facebook, but then I reasoned with myself. I mean he had mutual friends that I knew, I saw him in pics with people that I knew. So I could conclude that he wasn't on the net using someone else's photo, and that he was actually social enough in real life to be out and about and in pictures with people that I knew-- Basically he wasn't just some weirdo who could only talk on the internet. As for the "crazy factor" A guy you meet at happy hour could be crazy too! So using that logic, I agreed to a date. I Informed my friends to take down his license plate info and phone number (jk...but for real) And I went on the best date of my life on September 30th, 2007. And in 2011 we are still here. I don't think the internet was that much of a factor in this situation seeing as though I could have met him at a football game where our schools played each other, or at the mall that was situated between both of schools. The internet was just chance.

As for online dating sites, I would never do it...honestly I wouldn't even recommend it to any of my friends. No particular reason, its just not something I would recommend. It would make sense that both parties involved would both have the same goal of finding a relationship, so you wouldn't have to weed out candidate's based on that aspect. But I have to question some of the motives for signing up for online dating. A popular reason for online dating is that some people just don't have the time to put into the courting process. I would have to wonder if someone doesn't have time to court me, then how would they have time to date me? *shrugs* Another common reason is that they are older and really ready to settle down. I'm all for knowing what you want, but I just feel like there may be some desperation and rushing to factor in as well. Those are just my observations, I'm not judging at all. These are just things that I would consider. Overall, I say we're all grown, so how you choose to date should be up to you. *shrugs* As long as you're safe and know who you're dealing with, then date away.

What say you?