Romantic Relationships, Online Dating, and Mental Health Issues

What Personality Characteristics Are Associated With Those Who Prefer Online Dating?

• 1.

  In a research finding it was concluded that loneliness was found to be one of the major factor that encouraged people to go for online dating. (Lawson & Lake, 2006). The participants reported that they felt less lonely after being a part of the online dating websites.

• 2.

  It was observed that individuals scoring higher on the romantic beliefs and especially idealisation of the romantic partner were more vulnerable to being deceived on the online dating sites. These individuals also tended to be more agreeable and more likely to opt for online dating. (Whitty & Buchanan, 2012)

What Is Wrong With Online Dating?

In a popular blog post by Ryan Anderson, several warning signals regarding online dating have been put up and they seem to be resonating with reports of Indian newspapers on the same topic (Psychology Today, 2016).

• 1.

  People tend to lie about themselves on online dating sites. Out of over 1000 online daters in the USA and UK, 53% confessed that they have lied in their online dating profile; mostly about look, height, financial status. This was an attempt to project an ideal self to attract more partners.

• 2.

  It’s basically virtual! Smith and Anderson (2015) found out that more than one third of their research participant (online daters) never actually went on a date and those who went found it difficult to connect to the person they had met online.

• 3.

  It makes people judgemental. Various online daters confess that they judge the person based on the looks. The apps and websites offer an interface where only the physical aspects of the individual are highlighted so as to make the website more appealing. Naturally the users dismiss the not-so beautiful candidate in just a swipe or a click.

Emerging Mental Health Issues Related To Online Dating

However there are some shortcomings of this epidemic of developing romantic relationships. Right from becoming a victim to identity or financial frauds to brief, deceitful and virtual nature of relationships, online dating poses a serious danger to the person’s sense of self and his or her relationships with others which in turn lead to many mental health-associated issues.