POLOKWANE – The advent of social networking continues to steer the dating game in the 21st century into colourful cyber clouds.
The popularity of online or internet dating – a personal introductory service whereby individuals can find and contact each other over the cyberspace to arrange a date, usually with the objective of developing a personal, romantic, and/or sexual relationship – has evolved in line with high tech modern society. With the use of personal computers or cellphones, online dating services usually provide uncontrolled matchmaking over the internet. Users of these services are usually requested to provide their personal information to enable them to search the service provider’s database for individuals who match their profiles. Criteria such as age range, gender and location is then used to find a perfect match.
Almost two decades into the new millennium, online dating is at an all-time high.
Express asked residents what they think of this popular trend and whether they would consider dating online.
Thabang Khwinana thought this is not a good idea. “I don’t understand why people do it. It is very dangerous talking to someone you don’t even know. I don’t think it should be considered as a real thing, because it’s not. I used to do it when I was younger because it was cool, but now I don’t because you just see the info and photos of the person(s) you supposedly match; you can never be sure they are who they claim to be,” he added.
Tebalelo Rachidi shared this sentiment. “I don’t think it is a good idea. It is dangerous and you might meet people who might kidnap you or even have worse intentions. I think a lot of people who do it are extremely shy and use this platform because they are scared to do things in the traditional way,” said Rachidi.
Phologa Kwena also viewed online dating as not the way to go. “It’s like dating a stranger; I don’t think it’s good. Sometimes people just want things from others so they pretend that they are in a relationship with them. I wouldn’t do it because it really doesn’t make sense.”
Kefilwe Pitja, however, supported the notion of trying to find love and/or your perfect match online. “I think it is good because you can chat to someone and get to know them, even if they are far. You can talk about things that you are scared to talk about with someone face to face. In doing so, you can find the right partner, get married and have kids. You just have to make sure that you also meet the person in public and must be careful and alert because you can’t believe everything anyone says to you.
“I wouldn’t mind doing it, I see nothing wrong with it, to be honest,” said Pitja.
Mohau Phashe disagreed and said online dating is not a good idea. “It is not a good move because people are dating other people or strangers who they have not met. It is too risky, especially for women. It should only be reserved for pleasure; not with the inclination to find real long lasting love,” he explained.
