Looking for love in the 21st century has advanced beyond going to a bar and getting someone乌鸦传媒檚 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.
乌鸦传媒淲e probably saw before COVID, over the last 20 years, a fairly major shift into a different kind of relationship, a little less serious,乌鸦传媒� said Hinbest. 乌鸦传媒淧eople stop talking about dating entirely for a while, and they said, 乌鸦传媒極h, people are hooking up,乌鸦传媒� or they乌鸦传媒檙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.乌鸦传媒�
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 乌鸦传媒渘ovel and weird things,乌鸦传媒� and said speed dating is an ideal way to date.
乌鸦传媒淚 think that this is the way to actually form a connection and meet interesting people. The point of dating isn乌鸦传媒檛 always to find something romantic,乌鸦传媒� Santos told the News Bulletin. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 to meet new people, it乌鸦传媒檚 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.乌鸦传媒�
Claudia Bastien, from Squamish, has tried online dating, but it乌鸦传媒檚 not her cup of tea.
乌鸦传媒淚 haven乌鸦传媒檛 online dated in four years,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 just not necessary. I don乌鸦传媒檛 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.乌鸦传媒�
Brendan Milholm, from Nanaimo, is used to the more traditional style of dating, and hasn乌鸦传媒檛 tried online dating. This month乌鸦传媒檚 Hullo ferry event was his first time speed dating and he liked the fact there were people from different places and 乌鸦传媒渋t was quick.乌鸦传媒�
Milholm was even able to get a couple of phone numbers from people from the mainland. He would try speed dating again, he said.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 unique, different, it乌鸦传媒檚 better than using an app I guess,乌鸦传媒� said Milholm. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 not on a dating app, so this is something that乌鸦传媒檚 a bit more personal 乌鸦传媒� I乌鸦传媒檓 more about a natural kind of relationship and building that than going online and swiping through people.乌鸦传媒�
The VIU prof Hinbest says that dating in the digital age isn乌鸦传媒檛 without problems, with concerns about algorithms and online surveillance. People are also leery, he said, as what they see might not be what they乌鸦传媒檙e getting.
乌鸦传媒淥ne of the things that we know from a sociological take on social psychology 乌鸦传媒� when people make presentations of themselves to other people, it乌鸦传媒檚 different online compared to in-person乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮綕 he said. 乌鸦传媒淥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.乌鸦传媒�
Hinbest, who met his wife on a blind date, said in a sense, dating apps are blind dates as well.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a really common thing to have tried [and daters乌鸦传媒橾 criteria for success are going to be different乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮綕 he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hey乌鸦传媒檙e not necessarily looking for a long-term thing. Especially during COVID, people were just looking to connect to somebody and it didn乌鸦传媒檛 matter so much that they weren乌鸦传媒檛 actually in person. But then at some point, the rubber hits the road, right?乌鸦传媒�
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