Check these out: On-line Love Can it really exist? Internet harassmanet Is the Web a breeding ground for such crime? Identity on the Net Are people who they really say they are? Gender What is the role of gender online? Links A combined list of related links

On-line Love Everyone hears the stories of how people meet over the Internet, completely by accident, and after a short time find they are perfect for each other. The Cinderella story continues and the couple ends up getting married happily ever after. How accurate and common is this portrayal. Sociologist Andrea Baker of Ohio University-Lancaster did a study, published by CMC Magazine to find out. Baker studied 18 couples who had met over the Internet and asked them to complete an open-ended questionnaire. It is important to remember that all participation was voluntary, however. Despite this, she came across several interesting findings. Most of the couples met through a common interest. Some met through trivia games, while others met in a chat room designed for a specific topic such as ethnicity, occupation, spirituality or interests. After initial encounters online, there is a typical pattern that most people followed. Typically, the next step is sending e-mails or private chats. The relationship then usually progresses to telephone conversations and then finally to meeting in person. Meeting this person can be an awkward occurrence. Physical appearance can often be surprising – even if the couple had exchanged pictures previously. Many complained that the pictures seemed to have been enhanced, and some who had not previously seen pictures were disappointed. However, in other cases, many were pleasantly surprised by the physical appearance of their mate. Personality was often quite a surprise also. Many of the couples were very nervous, and hence, very shy during the initial meeting. After this initial time of awkwardness, most couples came to be very comfortable around each other and most of the meetings were very successful. During the six-month study, only two of the 18 couples separated, and eight were married by the completion of the survey. What is the reason for such success? Again, it is important to remember that these couples did volunteer. But one theory is that people are able to be more open through written communication – especially men. Another consideration is that relationships are built before personal biases of meeting in person can interfere. At any rate, these relationships seem to be relatively successful. But one should not be quite so quick to draw conclusions. There are many things to be weary of. While these relationships seem relatively sucessful, the conditions were not perfect. Other studies have shown much different results, and the Internet can sometimes be a dangerous place for relationships to exist. For more information, be sure to check out other links on the left side of this page. To take a look at the study's webpage, click here.