It’s 2 a.m. Your phone buzzes and a piercing white light from your bedside table awakens you. You brush it off and go back to sleep, but just before your eyes shut, you hear yet another buzz. You reluctantly grab your phone, eyes squinting in the bright light of your phone’s screen, to receive a vague message from somebody you’ve never met.
“Hey!” it reads.
A half-hearted response glimmers in your mind — “Hey :),” you reply.
You feel as though the smiley face will really sell your whimsical self to the stranger on the other end. You go back to sleep, planning your imminent wedding with Taylor, Morgan or Robin, never to hear from them again.
This is the process that is all too familiar in the venture of finding love online.
According to eHarmony, 36 per cent of Canadians use some form of online dating and 16 per cent have had sex with somebody they’ve met online.
Noël Bowman said she has never used online dating before and doesn’t understand the appeal.
“I’m not saying that all people who use online dating are idiots, but I can’t imagine putting myself out there like that. I’ve had friends use it who are very happy with their results, but I just wouldn’t do it myself…. I don’t want to have to present all of myself at once. I want somebody to decide they want to get to know the bits and pieces of me based on something they see in me.”
Bowman added she prefers meeting people more traditionally and doesn’t feel as though it’s worth it to jump through the hoops online dating can present.
Marlowe Lindsey, on the other hand, is well-versed in the world of online dating and as the owner of a Tinder profile for the past three years, has seen it all.
“Tinder is always a bad time, you meet some very strange people and have some even stranger dates. I went on a date with a guy I met on Tinder once and he proceeded to tell me I would never be employed in my current field.”
Lindsey said the reason she still uses the service is the confidence boost that it can give you.
“It’s kind of gratifying, honestly. You see people liking you or super liking you and it feels good.”
She also said the main reason she believes more and more people are looking for love online is ease-of-access and the uncomfortable situations that meeting people in person can present.
“I think people are too awkward now to meet organically. We’re moving to a platform that we’re all familiar with and comfortable on, rather than meeting face-to-face. Plus, face-to-face rejection hurts a little more.”
According to a study published by Psychology Today in 2016, one in five relationships begin online. It’s estimated that by 2040, 70 per cent of us will have met our significant other online.