Raise your hand if your mom, aunt or cousin who already did it, has encouraged you to join a dating website? Keep your hand raised if they’ve gone so far as to set up your profile for you and communicate with potential dates on your behalf! lol my hand is up. Don’t be bashful – maybe this article from Slate on online love, might be in encouraging. Click for more.Just the other day, my mom was scolding me for not even once logging on to answer any of the messages “I” had received on one of the African love dating websites she signed me up for. If you’re in the same boat – and have expressly told the good-hearted family member who has signed you up or encouraged you to join “date marry have babies with an african dot com” – this story from Slate might interest you:
It wasn’t long ago that online dating—and admitting you were dating someone you met online—was a taboo subject. Couples who met online would defer questions about how they met or even make up a story far less scandalous than meeting “anonymously” over the Internet. Clearly that isn’t the case anymore.
A little more than a year ago, photographer Jena Cumbo began photographing couples who had met online for a project she calls “We Met on the Internet.” Cumbo said the initial idea behind the project was to make pictures that were a commentary about modern life. Since the Internet is a vehicle for connection, she said it was a natural progression for dating, especially since connections are now readily available via smartphones. “I think Internet accessibility and the sheer number of people online everyday has to do with why Internet dating isn’t the same little dirty secret anymore,” she said.
Three of the couples featured in the We Met on the Internet project include:
Lily & David
Lily and David, JDate. Lily’s mother set up a JDate profile for Lily. The profile was loaded with lies, Lily said, but she went on a few dates her mother set up for her. She was going to close the account when her mom connected her with David. “I didn’t want my mother to be right,” she admitted. Lily and David have been married for two years.
Cora & Will
Cora and Will, Craigslist Free Stuff. Cora and Will met on Craigslist, but not on the dating section. “I just moved to New York and didn’t have any furniture. Plus, I hardly knew anybody in N.Y. Will posted free movie tickets that he won online,” Cora said. Cora emailed Will about the tickets and he wrote back. A week later they agreed to meet at a coffee shop. Cora waited for 50 minutes and almost left before Will arrived. “I actually had to run most of the way to meet her because I took a cab that got stuck in traffic. I got out of it early and ended up walking in the wrong direction,” Will said. They now have two children.
You can read the entire Slate article here; AND you can see Jena Cumbo, the Photographer’s entire project gallery here.
What do you think? Have you or someone you know found love online? Share in the comments section below
