Millennial Talk: Is Online Dating A Good Idea Anymore?

So, in case you haven’t heard, social media is the new rage. Everything, from building a business, to connecting with long-lost loved ones to even finding your life partner – everything happens online these days. And thanks to websites having corresponding apps, you can now carry your virtual world with you! Facebook itself has been around for what, over a decade now? And Instagram and Snapchat are the craze of those who are even remotely photogenic (I am not on either of these, because I look like a camel through the lense!)

One of the latest social media apps that people are flocking to is Tinder and other similar dating sites. Have a problem in your current relationship? Tinder. Are single and feeling a little lonely tonight? Tinder. Want to make a random “friend”? Tinder. Feeling like judging someone’s attractiveness based solely on their face? Tinder. Regular socializing and meeting real people the way generations before us have done is something that is considered crazy. We prefer to cyber stalk someone and come to judge if we will get along with them or not through a brief account profile (and let’s be real: who is really totally honest on these apps anyway?)

Recently we were reminded of a scary story that took place in Australia in 2014. To jog your memory, a young girl, 26 year old Warriena Wright fell off the 14^th floor balcony of a man she met through Tinder. This was their first meeting, and already she was in his apartment, drunk out of her mind. He was 30 year old Gable Tostee and is now looking to face years in jail if proven guilty for her death.

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Where have those days gone when chivalry was still alive? When a man came to your door to pick you up and then reached you back home safely, waiting for the woman to make the first move, instead of trying to liquor her up and take her to his apartment for a rough night in the sack? Where the hell have those glorious days gone? Now you just meet someone that a robot tells you matches your profile and interests, and you put yourself and your safety completely in that person’s hands, throwing all caution to the wind.

The man may face justice, but will that ever be able to bring this young girl back to life again? Her promising destiny was cut short because of some app she downloaded, instead of getting to know this stranger first, going out on casual dates with him and making a move after knowing that he was someone who would protect her, like a real man would, instead of locking a drunken woman out on his balcony after having “rough sex” with her and then letting her crash-land to a quick death.

Maybe all your friends are doing it, and it may seem like a socially acceptable thing to do, but the next time you think you’re lonely and need some company, call a trusted loved one and spend time with them, or go out and physically meet people in a social setting. At least then you can make sure you make it to the morning without being violated and with your life intact.