Editing Internet relationship (section)

==== Users ====
According to an article in the ''New York Times'', mediated matchmaking has been around since the mid-1800s.<ref name="Start of online dating2">{{cite journal|last=Shaefer|first=Laura J.|date=14 February 2003|title=Looking for Love, Online or On Paer|url=https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=Looking+for+love%2C+online+or+on+paper.+The+New+York+Times+Shaefer&oq=Looking+for+love%2C+online+or+on+paper.+The+New+York+Times+Shaefer&aq=f&aqi=&aql=1&gs_nf=1&gs_l=hp.3...8030.10040.1.10149.9.9.0.0.0.0.92.585.8.8.0.crf.1.3Rk45Pdpew4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=fb8265af22147407&biw=1146&bih=598|journal=The New York Times|access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref> Online dating was made available in the mid-1990s, with the creation of the first dating sites.<ref name="Brooks2">{{cite web|url=http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/files/idea-white-paper-final-review-copy-only-updated-1-19.pdf|title=How has Internet dating changed society? An Insider's Look|last=Brooks|first=Mark|publisher=Courtland Brooks|work=Scholarly Article|access-date=26 March 2012}}</ref> These dating sites create a space for liberation of sexuality. According to Sam Yagan of [[OkCupid]], "the period between New Year's Day and Valentine's Day is [our] busiest six weeks of the year".<ref name="Start of online dating2" /> Changes that online dating companies have created include not only the increase of pickiness in singles, but the rise in interracial marriages and spread the acceptance of homosexual individuals. Dating sites "are a place where sexual minorities, inter-sexed people and gay people are enjoying a newly found freedom".<ref name="Brooks2" /> Several studies have shown the availability of online dating to produce a greater closeness and intimacy between individuals because it circumvents barriers that face-to-face interactions might have. "Participating in personal relationships online allow for almost full freedom from power relations in the offline/real world."<ref name="online videos2" />

A plethora of virtual sexual identities are represented in online profiles. The amount of personal information users are being asked to provide is constantly increasing. More and more online users are starting to explore and experiment with aspects of their sexual identities, whereas before, they may have felt uncomfortable due to social constraints or fear of possible repercussions.<ref name="Electronic Cloak2">{{cite book|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=199529|title=Electronic Cloak: Secret Sexual Deviance in Cybersociety|last=DiMarco|first=Heather|publisher=William Publishing|year=2003|location=Oregon}}</ref> Most internet sites containing personal profiles require individuals to fill in "personal information" sections. Often these sections include a series of multiple choice questions. Due to the anonymity of these virtual profiles, individuals are more frequent to 'role'-play at being one of the predefined 'types', although offline, reservations may inhibit the individual from sharing true answers.

There have also been many studies done to observe online daters and their reason for turning to the internet to look for romantic partners. According to Robert J. Brym and Rhonda L. Lenton, users of online games, websites, and other virtual communities are encouraged to conceal their identities and learn things about themselves that they never knew before.<ref name="canada2">{{cite book|url=http://www.bestsoftworks.com/docs/loveonline.pdf|title=Love Online: A Report On Digital Dating in Canada|last=Brym|first=Robert J.|publisher=Msn.ca|year=2001|location=Toronto|access-date=2012-04-30|archive-date=2013-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101162157/http://www.bestsoftworks.com/docs/loveonline.pdf}}</ref> With a concealed identity, an online user can be whoever they want to be at that exact moment. They have the ability to venture outside of their comfort zone and act as someone completely different.

The ''Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication'' reports the results of a study conducted by Robert J. Stephure, Susan D. Boon, Stacy L. MacKinnon, and Vicki L. Deveau on types of relationships online participants were seeking. They concluded that "when asked what they were looking for in an online relationship, the considerable majority of participants expressed interest in seeking fun, companionship, and someone to talk to. Most also reported interests in developing casual friendships and dating relationships with online partners. Substantially fewer reported using the Internet for the specific purposes of identifying potential sexual or marital partners."<ref>{{cite journal|last2=Boon|first2=Susan D.|last3=MacKinnon|first3=Stacey L.|last4=Deveau|first4=Vicki L.|year=2009|title=Internet Initiated Relationships: Associations Between Age and Involvement in Online Dating|journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication|volume=14|issue=3|pages=658–681|doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01457.x|last1=Stephure|first1=Robert J.|doi-access=free}}</ref>

However, a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2012, looked at about 19,000 married people and those who met their spouse online said their marriage was more satisfying than those who met their spouse offline. Plus, marriages that began online were less likely to end in separation or divorce.<ref>{{cite web|title=Business Insider|website=[[Business Insider]] |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/happy-marriage-online-dating-2017-10|access-date=31 Jul 2018}}</ref>

Faye Mishna, Alan McLuckie, and Michael Saini, co-authors of the ''[[Social Work Research]]'' article ''Real-World Dangers in an Online Reality: A Qualitative Study Examining Online Relationships and Cyber Abuse'', reported the results of their research and observation of over 35,000 individuals between the ages of 6 and 24 who have been or currently are a part of an internet relationship about which they had concerns, and consequently contacted an organization that provided online support. Of the final 346 posts chosen to be included in the study, the average age of online users sharing information about their online relationship(s) was 14 years old.<ref name="Abuse2">{{cite journal|last=Mishna|first=Faye|date=June 2009|title=Real- World Dangers in an Online Reality: A Qualitative Study Examining Online Relationships and Cyber Abuse|journal=Social Work Research|volume=33|issue=2|pages=107–118|author2=Alan McLuckie|author3=Michael Saini|doi=10.1093/swr/33.2.107|citeseerx=10.1.1.688.9332}}</ref> The overwhelming result was that children and youth consider their online relationships to be just as "real" as their offline relationships. The study also showed that the internet plays a crucial role in sexual and romantic experiences of this population of adolescent users.<ref name="Abuse2" />