Online Dating Essay

The Dating Scene
With the constant reminder of pressure on middle-age America to find “the one” and settle down, many individuals of many races are choosing a very popular avenue to do so; internet dating. Commercials on television offer a variety of promises including finding “the one” in a fixed amount of time, for a low fee, in an honest way, or any other number of seemingly quick fixes to jumpstarting a relationship and ultimately; a marriage. In August 2003 alone, 40 million unique users visited online dating sites in the United States alone, according to U.S. World News and Report (par. 1). But with the ease of uploading a picture, creating a personality profile and starting cyber-communication; one rarely considers the possible complications and frustrations, many of which stem from the steadily changing gender roles in society. With the casual atmosphere of online dating, the possibility of true love and marriage is out there, but first it must conquer the possibility of rejection, premature judgment and power struggle between men and women.
Considering the forward movements of women in Justice for Women, the idea that women are becoming more personally responsible for their life and the people in it, is quite prevalent. “But on the way to ratification, women’s rights took a right turn,” (Goodman, pg. 180, par. 5). This statement provides the idea that women’s rights were of course considered, but not always acted on with importance or urgency. This particular case provides the background in looking at internet dating for two, somewhat contradictory, reasons. One, a history of women being the submissive race when it comes to taking action; and two, the drive behind women’s desire to take over the control in her life and on her own terms.
When looking at the possible positive outcomes of internet dating, we see the happy endings. We see the chance encounters, the unlikely couples and of course- the marriages. These surface topics are the reasons...