No need to be ashamed of online dating

In years gone by, people have been reluctant to admit that they had met their partner on the internet or that they were actively seeking someone via online dating sites.

The perception was that using the web for romantic purposes was a desperate move and that the only people available via this method would be undesirable and lacking in social skills.

But this is most certainly not the case, and Jenna Keating has written a blog for the Independent in which she explains why online dating is now something to be proud of. She noted one in five relationships now start on the internet, so there is no reason to hide this fact.

She also noted it is strange that so many people are willing to share every detail of their life on Facebook or Twitter, yet baulk at the idea of telling their friends and family they have turned to cyberspace in order to find a lover.

Ms Keating said the more she thinks about the nonsensical way some people go about hiding their online activities, the more she realises just how ridiculous it is. After all, walking into a bar on a Friday night is actually not too different from logging on to a dating site.

The blogger suggested both scenarios involve being faced with a selection of strangers, some of whom will be just what is required and some of whom will be totally unsuitable. Some conversation usually follows before a decision on whether two people should take their relationship any further is made.

"Essentially you're dancing the same dance, just to a different song," Ms Keating wrote.

Looking to the future, she predicted online dating is very much the best way to get together with new people and this will be proven in the years to come.

With people increasingly used to everything happening instantly online – on sites such as Facebook – it seems clear the future of dating also lies on the internet.