Are Online Relationships True Love?

A question that I've honestly always been unsure on: Are online relationships true love? Can you possibly be in love with someone who you've never met?

Online dating has been around basically since the internet was invented, but isn't talked about much. Even so, online dating is extremely popular online. To some it's the norm and to some it's downright mind-boggling and unacceptable. In this article, I'm going to be discussing both sides of the argument on online dating and if it can be considered true love.

One viewpoint is that, yes, you can absolutely fall in love with someone who you've never met in real life and it is 100% real, compassionate, head-over-heels love. Some believe that you don't need a physical connection to love someone, they focus on the emotional part of it and just talking to each other for hours online is all they need. They don't need to be with someone in real life, because they can just open up their phone and talk to their partner right then and there. There isn't as much fear of rejection you typically get when asking for someone's phone number or asking someone out on a date, because online it's a lot easier to be yourself and it isn't as intense as actual face-to-face contact. You don't have to worry about if the person moves away or if they live too far away from you because the relationship only consists of Skype calls, texting, etc. It definitely widens your selection on dating apps. A boy who has chosen to remain anonymous said, "Yes I think it can be considered true love, although it may be more difficult to figure out if it is true love considering the person isn’t there and you aren’t able to see how you click in person. But I think true love doesn’t have a distance. I highly doubt your true love happens to be a block away, unless you believe in fate, but that’s an entirely different thing. Distance doesn’t define love, especially if it’s true." Just as he said, distance doesn't define the love you feel for someone. Plus, it allows you to appreciate it much more if you do end up meeting your partner one day.

On the other hand, some believe that online dating is not true love whatsoever. Some think that to truly get to know someone, you have to meet them in person and get to know the raw version of them. Online, it's much easier to act like someone you aren't, and simply delete the things you write in a text message that you don't think are witty or clever before sending it. In real life, you're getting to know the real version of someone. In addition, in some scenarios, online dating just isn't safe. If you've ever seen MTV's Catfish, you're aware that it's remarkably easy to use fake pictures and pretend to be someone you're not online. A lot of parents don't supervise their children online, and child predators can easily just use fake pictures or act as celebrities to talk to children. Online dating is strictly online, and at some point, a lot of people will get upset at the fact that they can't cuddle, hug, or kiss their significant other. They are very limited on the things they can do, compared to the things you can do in real life, which can cause them to get bored. However, online dating is an escape for some people with disorders such as social anxiety. A woman who chooses to remain anonymous states, "I don’t think true love requires that you physically see each other. Even if the only way you can contact your significant other is from online, the love and feeling of happiness you get when talking/hanging out/doing whatever with them is still there." I asked if she believes that people who engage in online dating will eventually get bored of just texting or talking on the phone. She responded by saying, "To be honest, no. Just doing things with them that you can only do online is always fun, but spending physical time with each other would definitely be amazing." In conclusion, I don't think people are ever going to come to a definite answer. It really depends on the circumstances in someone's life, and some people truly believe that online dating is acceptable and works.