Facebook: The New Online Dating

By: Jessica Oakie

Photo By: perpetualplum (flickr)

Photo by: liberalmind1012 (Flickr)

Two most common ways of meeting people these days are through blind dates, and online dating websites.

Online dating is a dating system which allows individuals to make contact and

communicate with each other over the Internet…

Photo by: Don Hankins (Flickr)

…usually with the objective of developing a personal,

romantic, or sexual relationship.

Photo by: gareth1953 Come on Brentford (Flickr)

Over the past 50

years, online

dating has been

present in

society…

Photo by: Jenn Durfey (Flickr)

…beginning with a computer dating service involving

applications processed by an early IBM card sorting machine.

Photo  by:  Marcin  Wichary  (Flickr)  

The current rise of technology and social media has made online dating a norm in society...  

Photo By: UltraSlo1 (Flickr)

…with tons of thousands individuals creating profiles of themselves in hope to find their perfect match.

Photo By: krossbow (Flickr)

Today, one in five relationships start online.

Photo by: balleyne (Flickr)

However, dating sites can be time consuming, costly, and somewhat embarrassing for many people.

Photo by: danielmoyle (Flickr)

Research has shown social media has

enhanced relationships…

Photo  by:  FindYourSearch  (Flickr)  

… by strengthening existing offline relationships.

Photo by: Candie_N (Flickr)

Facebook, a social network known where

friends connect online by posting pictures, wall posts,

etc. Photo by: basykes (Flickr)

"Facebook basically started as a dating site. It's uniquely positioned to match people up.”

Photo By: Richard-G (Flickr)

With over one billion

Facebook users, it is easy for this social media site to

connect others

compared to online dating sites with less subscribers.

Photo by: Nerissa’s ring (Flickr)

Photo  by:  epSos.de  (Flickr)   Photo  by:  Molly  DG  (Flickr)  

Two out of every five single persons in the age group 24 - 50 use, or have used, online dating services.

Facebook has the most users in the age group of 25-54, the online dating demographic.

Photo by: LArideforkids (Flickr)

Already Facebook has come out with “Graph Search”, which can be used as online dating where a person can find specific qualities from a certain group of friends.

Photo by: Oh Paris (Flickr)

Facebook’s approach is different from other online dating sites- you find people you do know.

Photo by: Tobyotter (Flickr)

Photo by: JoeInQueens (Flickr) Photo by: Spree2010 (Flickr)

A study from Stanford University found that

about 10% of couples who met online knew

each other first in some other context and re-connected through a

social network like Facebook.

Once Graph Search was announced from Facebook, IAC/InterActiveCorp

stock, parent company of popular online dating sites like Match.com,

dropped by 2%.

Photo  by:  Ehnmark  (Flickr)  

Facebook is a true threat to online dating sites…  

Photo by: familymwr (Flickr)

…so what else will Facebook compete against

on the online world?

Photo by: Horia Varlan (Flickr)

Credits

All photos are taken from Flickr and under the Creative Commons-licensed content requiring attribution.

Sources

http://www.pamelarutledge.com/2013/04/28/social-media-and-relationships-myths-and-realities/ http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/05/11/dating-and-the-impact-of-social-media/ http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/08/21/report-social-network-demographics-in-2012/ http://mashable.com/2013/01/16/facebook-online-dating/ http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/08/21/report-social-network-demographics-in-2012/ http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-Social-Networking-full-detail.aspx http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/facebook-announces-its-third-pillar-graph-search/ http://visual.ly/100-social-networking-statistics-facts-2012 http://metronews.ca/features/welcome-to-the-e-dating-jungle/544341/timeline-a-history-of-online-dating/