In the 21st century, technology revolutionized nearly every aspect of learning and educating, but it also changed the face of a much more personal aspect of our lives: dating.
Dr. Elizbeth Ribarsky, assistant professor of communications at the University of Illinois Springfield hosted a talk on “Dating in the Digital Age,” at Norte Dame University on Thursday.
The lecture functioned as a how-to guide introducing audience members to online dating and warned about common mistakes they can make in setting up a profile and interacting with individuals online.
Ribarsky said her goal in the lecture was to remove the stigma from online dating.
“The stigma is that only creepy people go online,” Ribarsky said. “Or that they’re desperate. Or that they may not be anybody of who they say they actually are. Even though we see a huge influx in the number of individuals engaging in online dating and the number of individuals getting married from online relationships, there is still a level of stigmatization.”
Online dating is very functional because it allows an individual to cast a wide net and sort through people who they may or may not be interested much more quickly than face-to-face interaction, Ribarsky said.
The story was published in the Notre Dame Observer on November 15, 2013.
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