Even though online dating has been around for decades and new dating apps are popping up every day, are your Mom and Dad still freaking out at the fact that you’re turning to technology to find your next bae? Instead of hoping you bring someone other than your BFF home to family gatherings (don’t worry, we’ve all been there), they’d rather play a ruthless game of 20 questions about how dating apps work and why you think it’s acceptable to rely on the Internet to play Cupid. But little do parents know that you’re one of 14 million people who actually enjoy the convenience and freedom that dating apps offer. Let’s take a stand and be proud of our online dating profiles.
How many of you have been asked by your parents why you would want to go online to find a romantic connection instead of approaching an attractive person on the other side of the fitness studio or while volunteering at the local dog rescue? Yeah, us too. You’re not alone when it comes to being too dang exhausted from that demanding job and new work-out routine to go out and try to meet someone new every single weekend. Little do they know that these traditional values they swear on might not be as effective now that we have multiple potential date-night options just at the swipe of one finger. I mean come on, now we can do full online research before we accept a connection and it doesn’t get much better than that! We all have friends in our lives who are in successful relationships that began on dating apps, proving that there is hope for all of us despite Mom trying to tell you it’s embarrassing.
It’s also common for parents to assume that you’re using online dating to either find the love of your life or just one-time hook-ups, with no chance for a happy medium. While I can’t speak for everyone, many of us resort to dating apps in hopes of a good time that will blossom into a relationship down the road, which is what any parent would want for their child. As you can imagine though, Dad gets frustrated when he has to listen to you talk about the times you matched up with a person who was too serious or not serious enough. But rather than making him think you’re dwelling on the dates that didn’t have fairy-tale endings, you need to take a deep breath and remind him that you take each date as an experience to either learn or laugh from, no matter what the outcome is. Online dating does not have to be waste of time if you have the right mindset, Dad!
But regardless of the negative vibes Mom and Dad try to toss your way, there are a thousand more reasons why they should (and someday will) become more accepting of this innovative way to date. We both know we would have never met even half of these people if we hadn’t taken a leap of faith and downloaded that app. We’ve also become a society that relies so heavily on technology for anything and everything, so using it to our advantage in the name of love is only right. Dating apps also tap into something we strive for in just about every aspect in life – having more options. You never have to settle for less with online dating because there are always more fish in the sea waiting for you to reel them in.
