The Psychology of Online Dating

In societies today, many persons have adapted to ‘online living’ in practically every aspect of life, including dating. Although some still enjoy meeting their special him or her in a face-to-face setting, meeting someone online and then building a relationship from there is becoming more and more common and accepted in recent times. So what really motivates us to utilize online dating?

Firstly, according to evolutionary psychologists, physical attractiveness plays a huge role. Because pictures can be easily altered and edited via programs and applications on computers and mobile phones, many persons portray splendid images online. Physical beauty is a sign of health and fertility and so onlookers are usually attracted to these traits as, again according to evolutionary psychologists, we as humans are preoccupied with survival and reproduction (Spira, 2016).

In addition, lying and deception seem to be quite prevalent in online dating. People who are on these dating sites see only what people decide to put on their profiles, which may not necessarily be true; nonetheless, they are attracted to what they view. Although 94% of online daters deny any false advertising in their profiles, that number is, more than likely, drastically lower (Spira, 2016).

So for those of you who currently utilize this method of dating, or have plans to, just be careful about who you start building relationships with online, because you never know who you might really be “getting to know”.




References
Spira, J. (2016). The psychology behind online dating. Cyber-dating Expert. Retrieved from https://cyberdatingexpert.com/psychology-online-dating/

           

            

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