Online dating can make meeting people easy. Though it can lead to love, proceed with caution.
Luelana Bustamante
– Staff Writer –
According to research from http://match.com (Match.com), one way people meet their spouse is through work or school. However, not everyone can find love at STLCC-Meramec. For those who are still single, it could be time to try something new.
According to Online Dating Magazine, more than 20 million people are visiting at least one online dating service per month looking for a partner. At Match.com, 29 percent of users are under the age of 30; 51 percent are between ages 30 to 49; and 20 percent are older than 50.
“The Internet does open up whole new dating pools. Whereas it would seem impossible to have the physical or cultural capability of dating someone outside of your geographical or cultural region, the Internet has opened up this possibility,” said Lindy Hern, adjunct professor of sociology at STLCC-Meramec.
According to Match.com, recent studies of more than 11,000 people revealed that one in six marriages are between people who met through an online dating site – more than twice the number of people meeting at bars, clubs and other social events.
Meramec student Lucyane Teixeira-Everett, 38, was one who found her husband on an online dating site.
After finishing a long-term relationship, she decided to try an online dating site for the first time two years ago.
“I was the only single [person] in my group. I have a friend who found her husband online, so I decided to try it, too. John was the only man with whom I exchanged e-mails and phone calls,” Teixeira-Everett said.
The couple dated for one year and got married on Sept. 18, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nev., with their friends and family as witnesses.
“I never knew what real love was until I met John. I’m thankful to God every day for having John in my life,” Teixeira-Everett said.
STLCC-Forest Park student Elizabeth Gonzales, 27, also met her husband with the help of the Internet. Oscar Domingues, 35, was living in St. Louis, Mo., and she was in Mexico when his aunt decided to work as cupid by giving each other their e-mails two years ago.
The couple talked through e-mail for two months, exchanging only pictures, until they started talking by webcam.
After four months of talking, Domingues traveled to Zamora to meet Gonzales in person for the first time.
“I was working when I saw him walking toward me in the hospital aisle. He came and hugged me. After lunch, he went to my house and met my parents to make our relationship official,” Gonzales said.
The couple dated for one year and a half, living in different countries, meeting once a month, talking by phone, text message, webcam and everything they had until he proposed to her.
“He took me on a trip up in the sky inside a balloon when the sun was rising. It was so romantic,” Gonzalez said. She now has been married for almost two years.
According to Online Dating Magazine, even though there are more than 120,000 marriages a year as a result of online dating, Hern said that there is still the opportunity for dishonesty and malicious intent due to Internet openness. She advised students to be cautious about which sites they choose to use, and if they ever decide to meet someone via the Internet to make sure it is in a very public place and to tell friends or family about their plans.
“Internet dating is not something to reject offhand, but it is something that you should be very cautious about,” Hern said.
