The use of online dating or online personals services in the United States has evolved from a marginal to a mainstream social practice. People of all ages seem to be aware of the services available to them. We can safely say that online dating in the United States is already a common subject today.
It is a common perception nowadays that the online dating service is a viable alternative. It is an efficient way to meet dating or long term- relationship partners. Some of the factors that contributed to the growth of the online dating industry are the following: easy access to the Internet, the diminished social stigmata associated with online dating and also to the affordable cost of Internet matchmaking services.
Mediated matchmaking is certainly not a new phenomenon: In the mid-19th century, newspaper personal advertisements already existed. Video dating also became popular in the 1980s. Hence, when online dating came about people didnt get the shock of their lives. Although scholars working in a variety of academic disciplines have studied these earlier forms of mediated matchmaking, current Internet or online matchmaking services are substantively different from these incarnations due to their larger user base and more sophisticated self-presentation options.
In 2003, at least 29 million Americans (two out of five singles) used an online dating service. Many Americans see online matchmaking as the best way to find the kind of person they want to have in their li