As I was sitting in a corner booth in Panera the other day, studying my 14-page study guide for Social Ethics, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation taking place just two tables next to me. I don't know, maybe it's the journalist in me, but I always tend to "overhear" the best conversations. Let me set up the scene here. Man: gray, scraggly hair, maybe upper 60s. Woman: considerably younger, possibly in her early 50s. Maybe they were friends, I thought. What transpired next made me realize otherwise. I could see the look on the woman's face; she was smitten. Her eyes were locked in conversation with the man sitting across from her the entire time. It took me back to that first date feeling when you try to bring up random conversation and get to know each other better. I heard the woman blurt out something about her grandmother. You don't even get into talking about family unless you all ready really like the other person. Now, I am definitely not one to judge, but this was no ordinary "date." I heard them discussing their pictures online and how they really didn't look like that in person. "Oh my God," I thought. "These two met online and are now meeting for their first date at Panera."
Online dating is something I would never do, but I know it has worked for other people. Is there simply not enough appealing people in your everyday life that you have to resort to online dating? How do you even go about this? Scan through pages and pages of men or women until you find one you like? This couple at Panera was a perfect example about how these pictures don't even portray what the other looks like. I heard the man say his picture online was taken possibly 30 years ago. It made me laugh and wonder if he was embarrassed of how he looks now. If you are going to experiment with online dating, you should definitely choose a current picture. You have to be yourself. If another person is going to like you, they will like you no matter how you look. The whole situation scares me a bit anyway. How can you ever really know if the person you are talking to online is who they say they are?
Dating has come a long way in the past 20 years. If a person doesn't find a suitable significant other, they can just post their profile online and hope for love to come knocking. If it works and you find a great significant other, all the more power to you. However, I am reminded of last week's episode of Desperate Housewives. The mother wanted to know what was going on in her son's life so she decided to talk to him online pretending to be a girl his age. So, be safe and make good decisions; you never know who you could be talking to.
1 comment:
The whole on-line dating thing creeps me out. I don't mean to judge, I personally don't know anyone to have used the typical e-harmony site or match.com. I don't think people our age really utilize the service because it's not needed. Most of our time is spent with people our own age and there are plenty of opportunities to meet people. But for older people or for people in their thirties who are either working all the time or don't have a social life I guess it could be difficult. My mom's best friend is one of the nicest women I've ever met. So smart, funny, and does the coolest stuff with her spare time. But she is divorced with three kids and I could see for someone like her how- outside of the storybook grocery store cart bump, and fall in love instantly- she really had no where to meet someone. She went online and has been dating this super cool guy from Boston. They see each other every other weekend and are planning on moving in a year to be with each other after her son is out of high school. Now seeing how happy she is, I'll never judge the scene again. I guess it doesn't matter how you meet, as long as it's real and worth it.
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