Online relationships… They are, to me, obviously relationships that start online, either in a chat r0om or on a page such as E- Harmony or any of those sites. I have been in many confusing, complicated, online flings, but only two real relationships started online.There are definitely some interesting people you meet online… my poison is a little chat application called “Whoshere” on the I- pod.    I ask myself constantly, is it worth it? especially with longer- distance relationships such as the one I’m in now. Sometimes, it is difficult to stay faithful, but I try my best. my girl and I see each other very rarely, but we do our best to make things work. From a neutral point of view, I look at these online relationships and I ask myself, are these the key to finding true love,?

Statistics show that one in five relationships start online now, and the trend is growing. I have a few insights into why, being one of these one- in- five myself.

1. There is less nervousness when you talk to someone online. I don’t really know why, but I feel a lot less nervous meeting someone online rather than in person, and very candidly, I actually prefer meeting someone online first. I feel that appearance has to be the major factor

2. You can know a little about the person before you talk to him or her. On the chat application that I use, there are ares where the person can type out information about themselves. This makes it a little easier to pick someone who shares the same interests, and it’s a little easier to keep conversations going. In person, you really have to pry out information on people, but it’s sometimes displayed on the clothes they wear. I’ve been in many awkward pauses because the person and I had nothing in common.

3. People tend to be more of themselves online. In today’s society, we hide our true selves in fear of being judged. Online, we tend to ease up on our fortifications and our true selves come out. It simply makes it easier to understand someone.

4. You can’t read facial emotions online. This can either be really good or really bad depending on the conversation, but whereas in person, someone can read your facial expressions, online you can’t. This makes it easier to convince people of things, or even lie.

5. If you don’t want to talk to someone, you can ignore or “block” them. there are many, many people online who are either looking for only sex or to belittle people, these people, called “creepers” can be really annoying, even sometimes psychologically damaging when it turns into cyber bullying. Fortunately, in the cyber world, there is a little button called “ignore” or “block.” when activated, that person can not talk to you, sometimes, they don’t appear online anymore. We can’t “block” people in real life.

It seems easier to meet people online than in person, but in a relationship, you will eventually want to meet them. From experience, the process of going from knowing someone online to them being an actual physical human being is a bit.. awkward. I tend to get very nervous and conservative in my actions out of fear of making a bad first in- person impression. Something seems different in person and online. Conversations are different, moods are actually felt instead of estimated, and you don’t have your handy emoticons or text- speak at your disposal.  After the relationship get time to grow though, it changes, and become more personal, more based on when you get to see each other next rather than the small talk online.

It is hard for me to handle long- distance relationships. A yearning grows in me just to be with them as much as I can, which is really hurtful. Relationships are built on trust, and trust is harder than ever in long- distance relationships. I heard a quote from one of my friends a while ago. “Being in a relationship means giving someone the power to break your heart, but trusting them not to.” This is ever more true for long- distance.

Another part of most relationships is sex. In my mind, sex is the most pleasurable act there is. It releases, I believe, ten times more endorphins  than a dose of heroine, and it become really addictive. This is probably the worst part of most online long distance relationships. After you have sex, there is a bond there, something that is unbreakable. Sex, in my mind, is the ultimate confession of love, and you can figure out why. This is not true for all relationships, though. There are plenty of relationships where they are waiting until marriage, which is perfectly normal.

One of the perks of a long- distance relationship is that eventually, you can cut the person from you life completely. This is always the hardest part of letting go is getting your heart back. It is a little easier, in my mind, if they are far away. My first girlfriend is rather close, and I see her once in a while, which is rather scary because I don’t know what her or her parents would do. If you’re in a long distance relationship, chance are that you will never see each other again.

There are a lot of perks about meeting someone online, but there are also downs. For example, when you need your girl/boy the most, chances are that they won’t be able to see you. If you get put in the hospital or something, you want your girl/boy to be there. this also goes the other way, when my girl was put in the hospital, I would have given anything to get over there to be with her.

Another down is not being able to see each other often, if at all. My girl and i see each other only every couple of weeks, which really sucks. And really, when she is over, all we really want to do is cuddle and be close to each other. It gets really hard, and when we don’t see each other, we really miss each other. Our conversations degenerate to “I love you” and “I miss you” half the time. It’s even worse for me, because of certain “gifts” I can become addicted to peoples’ presence, but that’s another blog for another day.

In conclusion, online relationships are a growing phenomenon. They’re also, however, a double- edged sword. They have their perks, but they also have their downfalls. So to answer the question, “are online- relationship sites the key to finding “the one?”" I would have to say, yes!