ITWeb`s recent article on online dating attracted a lot of reader interest. In fact, it achieved as many hits as articles on Novell posting a profit, Telkom selling its property and ADSL halving a company`s Internet bill. For a slightly frivolous, non-business style article, that`s a lot of hits.
What`s more, around a quarter of those who read the article actually clicked through to one of the online dating sites mentioned, and some signed up as members.
People are meeting interesting foreigners, flirting with strangers, debating topical issues and mass-mailing jokes to long lists of codenamed people they are never likely to meet.
Tracy Burrows, Journalist, ITWeb
Mulling over the meaning of such impressive interest in online dating, I glanced at the results of the Wits University/ITWeb Internet Addiction Survey 2002, due to be published on ITWeb later this week.
According to the survey, SA has quite a few Internet addicts and people with a tendency to Internet addiction, and - surprise, surprise - many Internet junkies are teenage girls. Some of them spend up to13 hours online in a single session. They`re gaming, downloading multimedia, but mainly chatting. For 13 hours straight.
Could it be that the Internet is fast replacing the seedy singles bar, mingling at parties and teens "hanging" at the mall? South Africans, always a sociable lot and ever quick to latch on to the newest consumer gadget, have taken to the Internet like ducks to water. So much so that companies are blocking access to chat sites to get their staff to actually do some work.
People are meeting interesting foreigners, flirting with strangers, debating topical issues and mass-mailing jokes to long lists of codenamed people they are never likely to meet. Normal people are doing this. In their tens of thousands. From kids through to pensioners, it seems South Africans are no sooner hooked up to the Internet than they find a way to "reach out and touch someone".
I haven`t succumbed to the chat room or online dating bug yet, but I know many people who have. Actually, it makes perfect sense. In urban SA, you need to dodge hijackers, muggers and beggars and drive for half an hour across the city to get to somewhere to socialise. Then you risk ridicule, rejection and weirdos in order to talk to someone.
In rural SA, you`re looking at long drives along dark roads to get to a "socialising spot", where your best chance of conversation may well be an aged and bitter barfly with not much to say.
Alternatively, you can sit down at a PC in the comfort of your own home and engage someone in a stimulating conversation within minutes. What`s more, there is little risk of being cornered by a crashing bore. You simply enter the chat room best suited to your interests and meet like-minded people to converse with. If they`re weird or boring, you sign off and never have to communicate with them again. The same goes for online dating. Limited risk, no fuss.
While I have to concede that the burgeoning cyber society has a lot to offer SA, I do have one concern: what`s going to happen to the good old SA braai if everyone`s socialising online?
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