Custom «Dating» Essay Paper Sample

You are free to dream. To be swept off your sleep by those swirling illusions of a Prince charming or even the famous Cinderella. But when you come to, from your sleep or reverie, please remember to venture out. Because sometimes, that lady who serves you at the restaurant or the man who is your college bus driver, could be the one you are destined to spend the rest of your life with. You never know. How would you know unless you get to know them better by interacting with them on a date?

Dating is a way of courtship or interaction mostly involving two individuals with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability for an intimate relationship. According to Havelin, there are many dating systems, characterized by rules or technology involved. These systems range from the traditional match making to the modern online dating system which is highly enhanced by technological advancement especially in the field of internet (116). This essay sets to evaluate the similarities and differences of the traditional and online dating.

Dating, just like many other processes in societies, has transformed with time. Traditional dating involves the candidates going out together, say for a meal, a dance a movie or other social activities. This way they get to know each other before deciding whether to settle down together. Traditional dating however takes many forms depending on the culture of a specific society. According to Molly, in most and European- influenced societies, traditional dating is fairly casual with involved parties having more freedom in choosing who to date, and making decision on whether to settle for them or not.

In other societies, parents propose potential partners and the dating is limited and characterized with very specific formal rules. Examples of this form of practice include the Omiai and Xiangqin courtship practices of Japan and China respectively (184). Online dating involves people contacting and communicating with each other over the internet. This takes place on various platforms including social sites and dating websites which provide online chats, webcasts and message boards among other ways of communication.

Traditional and online dating are similar in many ways. Both have the main intention of matching people to know each other and get involved intimately. According to Algoe , like traditional dating, people dating online sometimes end up arranging and meeting physically. Just as the organizing for a date is sometimes done by a third party such as a parent or a friend in traditional dating, the same is sometimes done by specialized dating services organizations such as the ones running online dating websites.

Online dating is different from traditional dating in several ways. According to Lizzy, traditional dating is often considered more romantic since it involves physical in touch and meeting each other face to face than online dating. In Online dating, couples can date irrespective of their locations on the globe since they don't require physical meeting as is the case with traditional dating. Algoe describes online dating as walking into a dark cave arguing that there is no true way of knowing who you are dating unlike in traditional dating where the dates meet physically.

Traditional and online dating have similarities as well as differences. The way to go about dating depends on many factors such as the culture of one's society, one's location, availability of resources like internet or just someone's preference. One should choose the method that he or she feels works best. The future of online dating is subject to change due to safety regulations (Algoe). As for the traditional dating, judging by how it has stood the test of time, it is here to stay.