Thursday 18 September 2014

people should fall in love with their eyes closed

Everyone dreams of growing up, finding their soul mate and living happily ever after. But unfortunately this fairy tale seems to be an unattainable dream for many of us. Finding the perfect partner has become increasingly difficult in today's unashamedly promiscuous and vanity-driven society. Beauty is a key factor, with many of us searching for the perfect visible attributes rather than inner beauty.

A recent phenomenon of the last century that has seen a rise in hopeful singles actively searching for love is online dating. Whether using applications
like Tinder or setting up a profile on Match.com, people are choosing to look for love within the comfort of their own homes. It has only recently become fetished within our society, with couples very contently admitting to meeting their new partners online. 

One in five relationships now start online globally, that's an extremely hefty statistic considering online dating was viewed as an embarrassing development only a few years ago. But has the recent technology enhancements helped or carelessly hindered society in terms of finding true love and has actually made it an even increasingly arduous task?

I grew up in the 90s where scepticism regarding online dating was in full swing. Surely you must be extremely unattractive to lower yourself to finding love online right? You were seen as a 'loser' and a 'social-outcast'. I personally believe online dating has been an amazing invention, not everyone has an extroverted personality. Approaching people in social situations can be hugely frightening to a large number of people.

Some could argue that online dating has taken away the fun of meeting potential partners. Gone are the days of bunglingly bumping into a potential lover at your local supermarket or purposely spilling your mojito all over the dashing male sat across the bar you’ve tried and failed to make eye contact with since you arrived, just to finally seize his attention... we've all done it, haven't we?

However meeting a budding suitor through a dating app isn't always a triumphant situation as many would love to proclaim. Whether your unbelievably attractive date; tall, dark and handsome was just that... unbelievable! He actually turns out to be a balding, five-foot-five man in his early forties using somebody else's photographs to hopefully lure an unexpected dating victim and grasp their attention, just to show them he's actually a lovely man, hopefully that hasn't scared you off!

But as a society, are we unashamedly influenced by the power of beauty. Perfection is regularly praised throughout civilization and the media. People have a checklist as long as their arm for qualities which their future partners must possess: chiseled facial-features, over six-foot and most definitely have to have a six-pack. So maybe that's our biggest problem, we aren't searching for Mr Right, we are searching for Mr Perfect! You can’t fall in love with beauty. You can lust after it, be infatuated by it, and want to own it. But once you fall in love, you see only the essence of the person, not the outer shell. You can love beauty with your eyes and body but not your heart.

True love seems to be continuously more difficult to attain, but one thing is for sure, you should not waste your time sitting behind a mobile/computer screen waiting eagerly for a new message to pop up. Turn off Tinder, step away from your mobile device and throw on your glad-rags and best smelling fragrance. Love is waiting for you in mysterious places and you are too fabulous to sit and wait. So get to your local bar and who knows, your soul mate could be patiently waiting for a willing love interest to throw spill their mojito all over them, in which you can undeniably protest that it was an accident and then offer to buy them a drink. It's a unique ice-breaker no doubt which will certainly make you memorable!






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