A 2018 study conducted by Bustle.com, an online women’s magazine, revealed that the most common way people met their significant other was through the internet and online dating. This study specifically focused on people aged from 18 to 64 years old who were currently in a serious relationship. It detailed the overall change in meeting others in a technology based society, highlighting how the growth of technology has subsequently led to a growth of people meeting through social media.
Since the growth of social media and the use of dating apps, the way people meet others has changed. Relationships are more technology-based then they have been before. A
Stanford article published this August showcased through a nationally representative survey the overall growth of people meeting their significant other online, displaying how over the course of eight years the percentage of those finding their significant other online has increased 17 percent.
“Talking online can be misleading because you have to judge someone’s tone yourself
and you could read things wrong,” an anonymous student said. “It’s never straight up
anymore.”
Dating apps have become a widely-used resource for finding
and meeting people. Around 50 million people worldwide use Tinder, making it one of
the largest dating apps. Tinder previously had a minimum age restriction of 13 years old,
allowing a variety of age groups to have access to the app. This included seven percent of its users, who fell into the age category of 13 to 17 year olds according to an article by Teen Vogue. Recently, Tinder has changed its age restriction to 18 and up. However, even this new restriction is not completely reliable as users self-report their ages.
Besides dating apps, interactions between people in general have become more
social media-oriented. Today, people use both Instagram and Snapchat to reach out to those they are interested in. This has resulted in common phrases such as “sliding into the DM’s” Many people will ask for a person’s Snapchat username before asking for their number, and will chat or Direct Message someone before sending a text.
This form of interaction, however, is said to be potentially harmful to
relationships. According to an article published by Forbes detailing the impacts of social media on relationships, “social media has a way of creating insecurities and frictions, and young people feel the need to present themselves and their relationship in the best light possible.”
In addition to this, the millennial generation as a whole has become less invested in ideas of commitment. This trend of a millennials being scared of commitment may stem from social media. An article published by Scientific about Millennials and commitment detailed how “choice overload” in terms of options of people to meet online and on social media has resulted in a generation of people less attracted to ideas of commitment. However, many still believe that social media can be beneficial for talking to and
meeting new people.
“I believe social media, when used right, positively affects our relationships because it allows us to connect with people we normally wouldn’t see every day but still want to stay close with,” junior Grace Keller said. ”Ultimately I am positively affected by social media, but I do notice that it causes miscommunications that can weaken our relationships.”
