Online Dating in Popular Culture
February 16th, 2010
In the early ’90s, the idea of dating online was a no-no for some because of the attached social stigma. But when romantic movies tackled online dating as a place to find true love, more and more people warmed up to the idea. Today, online dating is a popular means to meet potential love partners.
Online dating as portrayed in movies
The concept of online dating has been romanticized so many times in movies, some of which featured top actors and actresses like Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. The movie Must Love Dogs is an example of a romantic comedy that features the Internet as the tool for falling in love. There’s this social stigma tied to online dating during the early ’90s. It used to be a marginal activity but this soon disappeared with the release of You’ve Got Mail, a romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Online dating is indeed a very romantic idea and is perhaps the perfect way for very busy people to widen their horizons and find love. In these movies, the main characters usually develop a friendship through an online dating site and they fall in love even without seeing each other in person. While this happens to a good number of online daters, most movies do not show the darker, more dangerous side to online dating, when people meet other daters who are not totally honest about their personal information. Online daters are often reminded to be very careful and to avoid online dating scams, which abound on the Internet.
Reasons why online dating is becoming more popular
Online dating is becoming more and more popular because of a number of factors. For one, the popularity and the need for the Internet is causing people to spend more and more time online. Online dating is becoming the most popular form of dating because it is convenient, fast, does not come with the stressors usually associated with traditional face-to-face dating, such as preparations, eating out, and looking for activities to do, and you can do it in the comfort of home. Online dating also allows daters to meet multiple other singles at a time and develop friendships before they decide to take the next step and agree to meet in person.
Online dating used to be associated with social stigma that made people afraid to try it out. This is now forgotten because of the release of popular romantic movies that placed online dating in a good light.
Related questions:
1. Should you try online dating?
2. How did online dating become popular?
3. Why is online dating so popular now?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.