I know that TDT and I are an example, but with today's communication channels truly in overload, how can you fail to meet your ideal partner, even if she is halfway around the world? The advent of texting, emails, skype, messengers, phones and even social networking like facebook mean that we're meeting more and more people, over greater and greater distances. Couple this with the advent of the low cost airline, and it's a good thing. In the old days you'd see a girl you fancied in the pub. The old dangly bits between your legs would dictate whether she was worth talking to, and in my case I'd normally stand no chance. Even worse, you'd settle for what you could get, and end up making a faux pas meaning that you wake up the following morning in bed with someone you hardly know, and have to endure that embarrassing silence as you both prepare to say your goodbyes after a night of drunken passion, or you'd sneak out the door hoping she doesn't wake up and then call you. This just doesn't happen so easily online. You chat to the person for weeks, if not months, and sometimes even years before you meet. You talk about everything, something that never happens whilst out clubbing. TDT and I still chat for hours every night on skype, we play multiplayer games against each other (pool is the current favourite) and we talk about everything whilst we play. My mate Nik who came down a few weeks ago was also in the same situation. He was in the early stages of chatting every 3 minutes via text to his new partner, and he was enjoying it so much more then a drunken shuffle in a pub somewhere. He finally met her last weekend, and it would appear they had a great time.
The associated stigma of meeting someone online will take a long time to pass. It's still a talking point on TV shows ("so, I gather you two met on the internet") and is not the norm, but with the information age truly taking control it has to be a good thing surely? Maybe in 30 years time it'll be the norm, and meeting someone in real life first will be the stranger of the two situations. As we find ourselves housebound more and unable to afford pub prices we'll be meeting more and more online. I can see a TV show on BBC HD13 in 30 years time called "Not so blind date" where people meet others and they have to choose who they'd like to continue chatting to over the internet.
