We’ve all seen Match.com and eHarmony commercials but as college students how inclined are we to actually sign up? Relationships can be hard to come by in college because no one really wants to be tied down.
As the online social networking generation, it would make sense for us to be using these sites to form intimate relationships. However, the commercials mainly show people in their early 30s and up finding their soul mates online.
Caroline Mrohs, a junior food science and Spanish linguistics major, joined an online dating site last month. “One of my friends in one of my classes was in a really good relationship for five months and she met him online.” Mrohs said. Basically, if it is working for other people, why not try it out yourself?
Others are a little more skeptical. When asked if she would ever try an online dating site, Olivia Brant, a junior dietetics major responded, “I think they’re kind of weird and there are creepy people on them.” Many people have this view of these sites and while there may be a large amount of “creepy” men, there have to be a few decent ones.
In my opinion the nice thing about online dating sites is you know exactly what the other person is looking for. Most times in college you deal with hooking up with guys and then finding out later that they are not looking for a relationship. Instead, on these sites you are able to weed out people who do not have the same interests as you.
In the past month Mrohs has been contacted by over 60 men, 15 of which she said met what she was looking for, and has been on two dates. So far she hasn’t met her soul mate but she definitely has hope. Unlike sites such as Match.com and eHarmony, Mrohs uses a free site called Plenty of Fish (pof.com).
But is there a good selection of men on these sites? “Better than one would expect but not good by most people’s standards,” Mrohs said.
When asked if she thinks a lot of college students use these sites she responded, “I think more than people think. It’s a younger and less creepy crowd than people normally associate with online dating.”
Brant’s main issue with the dating sites is the fact that there is no way to filter who is allowed to join. Especially because these sites are free, pretty much anyone can sign up and make a fake profile. Also, meeting up with someone you have never met before can seem intimidating and scary.
Her suggestion is that if there were online dating sites specific to a college campus where you need a university email address to sign up she would be more inclined to sign up.
I do not think the issue with online dating is the fact that talking to people online makes us uncomfortable because we do that all day every day. I think people feel uncomfortable because they have no knowledge of the kind of people that they are talking to. Mohrs was brave enough to sign up and actually go on a couple dates so if she can do it why can’t you? Don’t knock it until you try it.