Looking for love in the 21st century has advanced beyond going to a bar and getting someonesa国际传媒檚 phone number.
While match-making or going to a bar to meet people were tried-and-true methods in the past, Jerry Hinbest, a Vancouver Island University sociology professor, said the growth of the online world has changed romantic pursuits.
sa国际传媒淲e probably saw before COVID, over the last 20 years, a fairly major shift into a different kind of relationship, a little less serious,sa国际传媒� said Hinbest. sa国际传媒淧eople stop talking about dating entirely for a while, and they said, sa国际传媒極h, people are hooking up,sa国际传媒� or theysa国际传媒檙e connecting and then they went to dating apps, which redefined things and the idea there was that people are going to be connected to potential life partners, but also something more casual.sa国际传媒�
An example of looking for love in contemporary times occurred when Vancouver Island Ferry Company hosted a speed-dating event on one of its Hullo ferries last week. Caitlyn Santos, a participant from Vancouver, said she likes doing sa国际传媒渘ovel and weird things,sa国际传媒� and said speed dating is an ideal way to date.
sa国际传媒淚 think that this is the way to actually form a connection and meet interesting people. The point of dating isnsa国际传媒檛 always to find something romantic,sa国际传媒� Santos told the News Bulletin. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 to meet new people, itsa国际传媒檚 to be excited by what other people are doing and become more in touch with yourself. I feel like these are the opportunities where that actually happens.sa国际传媒�
Claudia Bastien, from Squamish, has tried online dating, but itsa国际传媒檚 not her cup of tea.
sa国际传媒淚 havensa国际传媒檛 online dated in four years,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 just not necessary. I donsa国际传媒檛 need to, I have some phenomenal people that I know in my community that I resonate with. I just tend to meet people wherever I go anyways.sa国际传媒�
Brendan Milholm, from Nanaimo, is used to the more traditional style of dating, and hasnsa国际传媒檛 tried online dating. This monthsa国际传媒檚 Hullo ferry event was his first time speed dating and he liked the fact there were people from different places and sa国际传媒渋t was quick.sa国际传媒�
Milholm was even able to get a couple of phone numbers from people from the mainland. He would try speed dating again, he said.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 unique, different, itsa国际传媒檚 better than using an app I guess,sa国际传媒� said Milholm. sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 not on a dating app, so this is something thatsa国际传媒檚 a bit more personal sa国际传媒� Isa国际传媒檓 more about a natural kind of relationship and building that than going online and swiping through people.sa国际传媒�
The VIU prof Hinbest says that dating in the digital age isnsa国际传媒檛 without problems, with concerns about algorithms and online surveillance. People are also leery, he said, as what they see might not be what theysa国际传媒檙e getting.
sa国际传媒淥ne of the things that we know from a sociological take on social psychology sa国际传媒� when people make presentations of themselves to other people, itsa国际传媒檚 different online compared to in-personsa国际传媒a国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淥nline, people put in the wrong pictures, they make a presentation of self that is fraudulent in a way, it may not be intentionally wrong, but it ends up being incomplete.sa国际传媒�
Hinbest, who met his wife on a blind date, said in a sense, dating apps are blind dates as well.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a really common thing to have tried [and daterssa国际传媒橾 criteria for success are going to be differentsa国际传媒a国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e not necessarily looking for a long-term thing. Especially during COVID, people were just looking to connect to somebody and it didnsa国际传媒檛 matter so much that they werensa国际传媒檛 actually in person. But then at some point, the rubber hits the road, right?sa国际传媒�
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