 I saw two different articles today on internet dating. One had a liberal take and the other a conservative bent, yet both portrayed an ugly view of internet dating (I would argue one is more concerning than the other).
First, Jezebel posted an article with an analysis of the site "Nice Guys of OkCupid", (OkCupid is on online dating site). In the article, Jezebel discusses the disconnection of men complain about how women don't want to date them, despite their self-described label as a "nice guy". They seem to miss the contradictory information provided on their profile which are often homophobic, racist, sexist and otherwise entitled attitudes, directly in contrast to their identity as a "nice guy". On the other hand, the Atlantic posted a piece on how online dating sites have made dating so easy that it's a threat to monogamy and the institution of marriage. Their basic thesis is that by decreasing the barrier of access to multiple potential partners, individuals will be less likely to settle in a relationship and will otherwise continue to try to upgrade their partnerships. It's a little difficult to believe their premise, let alone empirically show the association between online dating and the end of marriage. With these two articles in contrast, I have to wonder if the advantages of more potential partners might skew more towards an advantage for straight men than any increase of potential "upgraded" possibilities for heterosexual women. Then again, if they are posting they think women have an obligation to keep their legs shaved, gays and lesbian couples shouldn't be allowed to have children, men should be heads of their households, and interracial marriage should be illegal, maybe their dating pool isn't getting all that much larger after all. In any case, regardless of your political leanings, internet dating doesn't look too good for anybody based on today's commentary. Although, I have to admit I'm way more concerned that these men feel it's okay to post their entitled and ignorant attitudes these days than I am about the so-called demise of marriage. Update: Jezebel's take on the Atlantic article.
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