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Romantic relationships in the digital age Love 2.0: between happiness and disappointment
New technologies have changed the way people meet, seduce and love each other. With dating apps, social networks and instant messaging, it has never been easier to find a soul mate, or at least to increase contacts. But are these tools really beneficial for romantic relationships? What are the advantages and disadvantages of love 2.0?
The digital offer in terms of online dating
According to a study carried out by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) in 2020, 38% of French people aged 26 to 65 have already used a dating site or application, and 18% have already experienced a serious relationship thanks to these platforms. These figures demonstrate the growth and diversification of the digital dating offer, which makes it possible to reach a larger and more varied audience than traditional methods of connecting (friends, family, work, leisure, etc.). .
The advantages of love 2.0:
Dating applications offer several advantages to users: they facilitate access to a large number of potential profiles, they allow you to filter search criteria according to your preferences, they promote communication and seduction at a distance, they reduce the fear of dating. rejection and shyness, they stimulate curiosity and desire, they increase the chances of finding a compatible person.
The disadvantages of love 2.0:
But these applications are not without risks or limits for romantic relationships. They can also lead to frustration, disappointment, weariness, superficiality, distrust, infidelity, and even violence. Indeed, users are faced with an overabundance of choices, which can make them more demanding, more volatile, less committed, less loyal.
They are also exposed to misleading profiles, lies, scams, harassment and attacks. They can lose the sense of reality, of intimacy, of authenticity, of emotion, by favoring virtual exchanges over real encounters.
Exemple : Second Life, entre illusion et réalité
Romantic relationships in Second Life are very varied and depend on the choices and motivations of users. Some seek to live a fun, fantasy, erotic experience, without commitment or consequences. Others hope to find a serious, lasting, even real relationship, based on trust, respect, affinity. There are also cases of mixed relationships, where one partner wants to move from virtual to real, and the other does not.
These relationships are often marked by paradoxes and tensions, between illusion and reality, between freedom and constraint, between intimacy and distance, between pleasure and suffering. They can be a source of happiness, discovery, creativity, but also disappointment, frustration, jealousy, breakup.
Romantic relationships in Second Life are therefore both similar and different from romantic relationships in the real world. They reflect the aspirations, dreams, fears, needs, values, norms, cultures, identities of the individuals who experience them. They are also influenced by the characteristics, possibilities, limits, rules, codes, interactions, communities of the virtual world in which they take place.
Romantic relationships in the digital age (Love 2.0) and ordinary relationships:
A table which summarizes some differences and similarities between these two types of relationships according to sociologist Marie Bergström
| Love 2.0 | Ordinary relationships |
|---|---|
| Meetings are mainly done online, via specialized sites or applications. | Meetings mainly take place offline, in various physical locations. |
| Potential partners are selected according to precise and displayed criteria. | Potential partners are met by chance or through social networks. |
| Exchanges are mainly carried out by written messages or video calls. | Exchanges are mainly done through speech and body language. |
| Relationships are often more diverse, ambiguous and unstable. | Relationships are often more standardized, clear and stable. |
| Relationships are influenced by technologies, which can make communication, trust and intimacy easier or harder. | Relationships are influenced by social, cultural and personal contexts, which can promote or hinder compatibility, commitment and love. |
| Relationships are more private and individualized. | Relations are more public and collective. |
It shows the differences and similarities between these two types of relationships in terms of modes of meeting, communication, stability, influence and visibility.
Conclusion :
Thus, romantic relationships in the digital age are both a source of happiness and unhappiness, depending on how individuals use digital tools and manage their expectations, their needs, their desires, their feelings. There’s no magic recipe for finding love, but it’s important to keep in mind that dating apps are only a means, not an end, to building a lasting and fulfilling relationship.
Also read: Extraordinary love story: Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron
