Explanatory Thesis on Cyber Dating

For adults alike, the internet offers “relationships [that] can range from the cold, professional encounter, to the hot intimate rendezvous” (Chenault 105). Many online contacts can develop real life romances that begin with surprisingly “honest communication and realistic expectations, traits that many traditional relationships lack at first” (Wolcott 106). The Internet presents new opportunities to connect with others in the neighborhood, across the city, and around the world. The Net has "begun to transform the way in which people interact” (Singh 102) and has brought unlikely people together. However, one must be wary of these online relationships because often people “pretend to be just about anything” (Maasik and Solomon 103). With so ma

How do people meet on the Net? Through chat rooms, bulletin boards, interactive games, and newsgroups. Some are even able to talk 'live' over the computer through instant messaging. Children can easily reach pen-pals in Germany, China, and the West Indies. Social programs have introduced underprivileged children to top-level mentors and teachers. Older users can visit general meeting sites. One can join Special Interest Groups and “exchange pleasantries and argue, engage in intellectual discourse, conduct commerce, exchange knowledge, and share emotional support” (Chenault 105). There is a lot to be gained from Net relationships because there is no time limit. One can engage in an intellectual or emotional conversation twenty-four hours a day.

One must be cautious, however, of these on-line contacts. As the intensity of Net relationships grows, so do the hazards. No where are these problems more obvious than in on-line romances. "Things are often spoke and seldom meant," says Shakespeare. Much of our conversational understanding, then, comes from nonverbal cues - tone of voice, stance, and facial expressions. With its interactive format, the Internet is “based entirely on the transmission of electronic signals” (Maasik and Solomon 103) which gives the illusion of full communication, but it is not. Net users try to address this with emoticons, a form of e-language designed to help convey emotion. They include symbols like :-) , to mean a smile or @-->-->-- to signify a long-stemmed rose. It is a start, of course, but hardly full-blown communication compared to speaking to someone face-to-face. One still does not have all the inf

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