Oftentimes when a cohort reaches an age where the voice of reason is louder than the voice of impulse, younger generations are heavily criticized. Some things are valid observations that warrant redirection, but others are bound to change.

What I experience as a young adult is completely different than what my mom and grandmother experienced. With that said, change is not always a bad thing. With the constantly evolving world of technology making everything so easily accessible, your life partner could be just a few clicks away.

There are pros and cons to online dating. While I have never subscribed to a matchmaking website, I did initially “meet” my spouse on a social networking website.  We have been going strong for nearly ten years, and we’ve been married for six. I never counted the virtual time as part of our relationship and  only considered it official when we met in person eight months later.  I have to be honest with myself, though, the idea of dating someone I met online was absolutely absurd. Besides, I did not want to be judged, and my mind was already made up about who he was. So, whenever people asked how we met, I would always tell them of the time we met in person.

I think some of the reasons society is against online dating have a lot to do with safety. If you meet someone online, they could be an ax murderer that may be secretly living a double life who’s new to the area because he/she skipped town to escape murder charges. That may be going out on a limb, but people really do think that way. Another con is the risk of being catfished into a relationship with a person that’s actually someone else. In a catfish scenario, everything from their profile picture to social class is a total lie. But these things do not negate the fact that you meet frauds in person all the time.

On the other hand, meeting someone online (after following proper safety precautions) can allow you to develop a relationship that is built on communication, rather than physical attributes. While you can peruse their profile and stumble across eye candy, it still takes away the distraction that being intimate creates. You learn how to stimulate your mate mentally and create a foundation that is not easily broken.

So, what’s the difference between going on a blind date, meeting someone at the mall and finding a date online? In all three scenarios you will be taking a chance because you have never met the person before. What if you are a workaholic that’s short on time and are not really a social butterfly? Match.com ends one of their commercials by saying, “If Mr. Right is sitting in front of you, does it really matter where you met him?” I could not agree more.