KICKER: Convenience
Online dating is not online shopping!
The rise in love apps is definitely to blame on technological advance, and that is not really a useful advance. It is a shame that so much effort is put on making various tools to find love and to treat love as if it is something tangible, because it is not. By pushing the boundaries, we are the ones at a loss, as we are losing the art of conversation because being able to chat on your phone will not help you when you have to face the person that you have been chatting with. We keep criticising advertisements and celebrities for showcasing the wrong image, but the truth is that we are obsessed with looks and at the end of the day, personality seems irrelevant if you do not have the looks. While online shopping is a booming industry and we all agree that online shopping is the perfect recipe to boost your happiness, but does finding love online achieve the same happiness? Have we reached a stage where online shopping is considered to be as fulfilling as online dating? I doubt that. Again, this raises the issue of how obsessed we have become with the internet and what it has to offer, so much that we even expect to find our future wife or husband on it. We have exchanged our interaction with human beings to keeping in touch through the virtual world, similarly, we have exchanged our mall visits for sitting behind a screen and ordering online — now we can do the same with love, too.
From Mr Mustafa Al Zubaidi
Medical student based in Gdansk, Poland
KICKER: Fact versus fiction
Geography has nothing to do with emotions!
Love has lost its shine and sheen in today’s society due to the rise in love apps. While it was once thought to be the purest of emotion like the drops of rain or the smile of a mother when she has the first glimpse of her newborn. However, the word has now got a new identity and definition — and that is far from what it used to be.
It is beyond me to understand how an app can bring you love? How can two people be closer in emotions just because they are geographically close to each other? In addition, there seems to be a technical meaning added called extreme online shopping for love, where it is irrelevant if you know the person or have anything in common. Before the world goes into a technical change of asking a baby whether he or she loves the womb that they are in and whether they love the place they are in before even entering the world; it is important that we understand the remarkable difference in the meaning of fact and fiction, either that or we should erase the word from our dictionary.
What technology is teaching us is just fiction, whereas the fact remains that no app in the world can ever be programmed to bring in an emotional change in a person. That is God’s gift, so let us all keep things simple and bow to the Almighty for keeping certain things in his control!
From Ms Sudha Kathuria
Principal based in Dubai
KICKER: Individual choice
Love apps don’t take the decisions, you do...
There is no doubt that these apps make sense to people of the new generation, especially those who feel associated with the life and culture of the West. There is definitely a change in the concept of relationships altogether, and as a result, people are left with very little opportunity for face-to-face interaction.
As technology keeps advancing, the concept of virtual interaction is gaining momentum in life. For those who are habituated to technology and using it for every possibility in life, love apps is simply nothing but adding confidence to their busy days. Convenience is most preferred to those who are hooked to dating sites. Meeting someone from a distance is a matter of comfort as they can enjoy their time without actually getting to know the person. With this in mind, no wonder physical interaction gets lesser priority in the modern world.
In the contemporary world, love has different definitions and people enjoy them at their pace. However, these love apps are certainly taking away the true feel of romance in life. Irrespective of romance or love, both are to be traced by having a visual and physical touch. As long as we live in a world that desperately keeps changing every moment, this change of perceptions of the two mature minds must be accepted without thinking further. If everyone goes online, it is up to the individual who should decide how to embrace the best. Love apps are just a way, but the choice is left with the individual.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Quality manager based in Ruwi, Oman
KICKER: Smart societies
Online or offline?
The fact that there is an overwhelming amount of applications for finding love, shows that there is a high demand. Although I am an avid social media user, and I appreciate the power of the internet, these love apps concern me. I think it does tamper with how we communicate with others in a negative way. Meeting someone, already knowing about half their life and hoping an application has chosen well for us is not how a relationship should develop. Where is the magic and the excitement in getting to know someone through an in-depth conversation?
I don’t think you can find this magic through love apps setting you up on blind dates. I think we can learn a lot about ourselves and become better conversationalists through opening up conversations with people. I think it is important to be attracted to someone based on both looks and personality, but when did this not become possible to find through meeting people the old-fashioned way?
Maybe I am old-fashioned, and I need to get with the times. After all, the world is evolving to be smarter — why not with love? A lot of people meet and end up marrying after meeting online. Generally, I think the conversational developments through chance encounters are intrinsically good for society. We can shop online, find friends online, create social movements online and find love online. All are options we have, but all are not necessary to do online. To each their own, but I think if you can be patient and find love offline, you will be happy you did.
From Mr Rashid Khalifa
Student based in Dubai
KICKER: Illusion
Likes, tweets and statuses do not define you
I agree that love apps are making people lose the art of conversation. I am personally completely against the idea of online dating. Social media and technology, in general, with all its advantages and positive impact, has great drawbacks as well. Most importantly, it makes the youth live in a delusional world in which “likes, tweets, retweets and statuses” is what defines how “social” they are. Looking into someone’s profile and seeing their pictures and activities makes you form a certain impression of what they want to show to you, and not who they really are. Same with love apps, it makes you see a “virtual” partner’s profile in the way they want you to see them, and therefore, from the start, you are building a relationship on something fake. The conversation becomes virtual, lacking personal interaction and communication. In terms of relationships, social media should only be used to enhance or facilitate your communication with a person you have already met, rather than establishing a complete relationship behind the screen. It further doesn’t help establish one’s confidence to actually speak to someone they like and meet up with that person. In the long-term, the youth will grow up with poor understanding of body language and personal communication as a result of these apps. They will lack proper conversational skills, because they grew up seeing the world, and getting a partner, from behind a screen.
From Ms Sherouk Zakaria
Media person based in Sharjah
Facebook comments:
Yes, we are going to lose the art of conversation. Almost lost, I think that the growing generation can’t explain their emotions in the future because of these applications. The applications may be nice to see but it will be forgotten after some time. However, conversations will touch your heart and cannot be forgotten. While love letters can build a successful family; love applications just create a sense of excitement.
From Ashka Nova
Dubai
— Compiled by Donia Jenabzadeh/Community Web Editor
