North Americans are a breed of busybodies. We juggle multiple priorities at work, at home and our relationships. When the weekend rolls along, we feel stressed and burnt out from the week. The weekend feels too short to relax and there never feels like enough time to play catch up on things we never get around to doing during the week.
image via healinguniverse.com
To make our lives easier and more efficient, we seek and pay for services such as baby-sitters, nannies, cleaning ladies, and personal assistants. We do this so we can spend more time doing the things we love and spend more time with the people we love. We look for these services because more often than not, we’d rather be doing something else. We want the grunt work done for us and in some cases, want to enjoy the finished product.
Wouldn’t you want it to be the same way when it comes to love? It would be so much easier if the grunt work was done for us. You would pay for the professional matchmaker or matchmaking service and they would do the grunt work for you. Rather than having to try to look for it yourself, wouldn’t it be easier to select through profiles that are suited to your liking? We have no problem spending money for the services mentioned in the previous paragraph, yet why are some people still hesitant to pay for the matching making or online dating services?
Is it because we still believe that it is the one thing we are still capable of doing ourselves?
You can’t put a price on love and you can’t buy love, but why not pay for something that makes finding your soul mate more efficient? After all, in a society where we often feel we are pressed for time, aren’t we all about being more efficient? Of course, there is no guarantee that you’ll find “THE ONE”.
In this day and age, online dating is the norm and not taboo. People have met their significant other through dating websites because they specify exactly what they’re looking for. You don’t have to beat around the bush. You can let people know that you are looking for a relationship and vice versa, without the other person freaking out. The guesswork is eliminated, which would make dating a lot easier.
Some people prefer to meet people the old-fashioned way. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. People want that face to face connection first, rather than the online connection. However, as we get older, it can get harder to meet people. And it’s not just relationships, but friendships too. I personally found that my circle got smaller as I got older. Not in a bad way though. Sometimes people just drift apart.
It seemed so much easier when we were younger. We seemed to get freebies in terms of relationships and friendship. There didn’t seem to be a lot of effort involved in finding them. They just seemed to be there – Childhood friends, school friends, college friends, friends of those friends. There were a lot more social gatherings back then, more opportunities to meet people. Technology was there, but not everywhere. We weren’t so busy with work and other adult responsibilities.
We were more busy having fun and getting to know people.
If we had to pay a small fee to have that opportunity to experience that all over again, then why not?
Websites about online dating, social meet-ups and sport groups exist for a reason. They help us to disconnect from the daily grind and reconnect with each other.
I observed some girls/men earn more money from dating and social meet-ups. They earn while they are enjoying and giving happiness to those who are seeking love. Very great topic. Actually, there are a lot of study that business related to this will boom in the next decade.
Thanks! I can see why the matchmaking/social meet-up business would potentially boom. People are quite busy and for some, it can be very hard to coordinate dating and meeting people, as well fitting it into their schedule.
I think as much as technology is pushing us farther and farther from experiencing life (We are too busy filming it and tweeting it etc), it has helped in a way bring people closer, its easier now to find people with the same interests however unique and this tends to be the germ on which new friendships are born. Technology has sure made it easier make new friends and acquintances, the challenge I guess lies in maintaining or growing those relationships IRL
To add to the first sentence, I think technology is pushing us farther from meeting people at random. I’ve never been to any social meet ups or networking events myself. I’m already having a hard time maintaining my current relationships. The get togethers are not as often as I would like. Everyone’s schedule is different and busy and we all live in different cities too.
I’ve used meet up sites to help locate people to hang out after work. It’s an easy way to hang out with people over an activity you know you will all enjoy. I personally find it makes a much easier ice breaker since you all have that common interest. Being an introvert, if technology can let me skip the awkward stage of meeting new people, I’m all for it.
As a fellow introvert, I tend to gravitate toward people with common interests. I struggle trying to find common ground sometimes with new people and envy those people who have a natural flair for talking about anything with everyone.
I’m all about skipping awkward stages!
I know several couples who met online and are now married. It doesn’t work all the time, but it does a good amount. Tech can remove the human connection if used too much, but a lot of the times it helps bring people together.
I know friends of friends who have met someone online as well and are in relationships or married. So there is proof that it can work. Like anything, technology should be used in moderation, but easier said than done in this day and age. 🙂
My wife and I met on a dating website. They get a bad reputation about only being for hookups, but for people who can be socially awkward and aren’t big on places where most people find dates, they really are the best option.
When I was single, I considered signing up for a social singles meet up website. The thing is, I was too shy to do it alone and wanted my single friends to come with me, but nobody seemed to keen on it at the time. They had all sorts of activities such as wine tasting and it was in a group setting, so it was more relaxed.
I use Meetup.com to go to social events. Living in a big city as an introvert doesn’t always guarantee friends. It was so easy to make friends in college… work life not so much.
I know what you mean! That’s probably why I’m still good friends with most of the people I met in university. I don’t even talk to people who I was friends with at my previous jobs anymore. I envy the people who hang out together after work.
Online dating sites popped up after I was already married, but I know someone who met their spouse that way and it worked out quite well for them.
It seems to work out well for a lot of people. 🙂
just like the rest I know someone who also met their SO’s online and they are still together. Some got married even. I’m not sure if they paid the dating sites though.
Perhaps you get a free trial and then if you would like to continue after a certain period of time, you may have to pay? They always advertise the free part, but never the hidden fees. Then again, I could be wrong. Maybe most dating websites are free to use for an unlimited amount of time.