I remember when my father first introduced me to the wonders of the Internet at the ripe old age of five. Of course, I don’t go on the same sites that I used to go to (mainly because I felt too much guilt from forgetting to feed my precious Neopet). Instead, I’d rather chat on Facebook or scroll through Tumblr (though I still take care of my Neopet). Growing up knowing that I had resources that made the citizens of this heavenly body available to me was overwhelming. I could meet anyone I wanted to, and I could pretend to be anyone I wanted to be. As long as two people spoke the same language, anything could happen. Undoubtedly, this also meant anyone could be lying to me as well. Being the young girl that was afraid of strangers, I proceeded to avoid the Internet and all the liars that I thought had prowled on it.
Years have passed since and I have been introduced to the idea of dating a stranger over the Internet recommended by several of my friends. At first, it seems odd and difficult to comprehend how falling in love with someone you have never met would work out, I understand now how much effort all my fellow teenagers and some adults put in to this. Even though the lack of body language and the risk of those of fake their identity (otherwise known as catfishes) are prevalent, teenagers who are in long distance relationships over the Internet are made less ignorant of other cultures and are grown to mature with their partners as to how to deal with their situation.
First of all, meeting a person on the Internet is going to enlighten you on how diverse humankind can be. If I had never gone on the Internet and never met some of my friends, I would have remained completely ignorant about how America and other countries work. Couples who date online despite of the differences in their customs deserve all the credit for learning to accept what might not seem normal to them at first. I notice that those who have friendships or relationships over the Internet tend to be more cultivated about the world than those who do not. Without being exposed to the variety of humans, I would never have learned about our cultural differences.
Furthermore, you cannot say that teenagers who are in online relationships aren’t “seriously dating”. It takes a lot of growing up to plan a way to keep in touch despite having school to attend and other extracurricular activities to take part in and also usually being in different time zones. I’ve heard of adults complaining about how teenage relationships now aren’t earnest, yet there are hundreds of videos on YouTube of couples finally meeting in real life for the first time after working to save money to buy plane tickets. Yes, it doesn’t always work out, but I don’t know a lot of teenagers who’d be able to endure months, maybe even years, without touching the one they love while keeping their sanity. Besides, the great Richard Bach says: “Can miles truly separate you from friends…if you want to be with someone you love, aren’t you already there?”
Considering the lack of physical interaction, it’s possible that the first meeting could be awkward seeing that most couples are immensely intimate by this time but only behind the screen and could turn out to be shy. Most of the time, this isn’t the case. Being the wild and hormone raging teenagers that we are, of course our first impulse to seeing our other half for the first time would be to jump into their arms and obnoxiously commit a public display of affection.
On the other hand, a crucial matter is to be remembered: catfishes. Not everyone is going to be who he or she says they are. Some even make accounts with false identities for the pure purpose of entertaining themselves while the other person falls in love with a hoax. There are even worse circumstances where the victim’s personal information and photos get leaked or on their first meeting, get abducted and murdered. This is why online dating for teenagers isn’t recommended, but it’s getting easier to learn who to trust since the media is bringing these frauds to justice.
All things considered, online dating is opening more ways to reach out to others and develop a fresh way of communicating without the use of body language, even though there is the risk of cheats. If you’re not ready to potentially get your heart broken or made, then you could always go back to your Neopets.