"What's Love Got To Do With It?" by Andjula Razdan

"What's Love Got To Do With It?" is a story told by Andjula Razdan. She writes about how her parents were brought together by an arranged marriage in India, but she was raised in America, and she herself believes in love and then the concept of marriage. She believes that the idea of an arranged marriage was offending to both love and liberty. Taking that away was like taking away her democracy. She then examines love in today's society and takes a look at where western civilization has taken us. She discovers that people do not necessarily know what they are doing when they are picking their "soulmate." We tend to pick a mate based off of looks and not characteristics. That isn't going to do anyone any good in the long run in terms of being happy forever. Arranged marriages on the other hand prove to work because they promote accountability and rational deliberation ahead of instinct.
A rising trend for people to possibly meet their soul mates is online dating. These websites such as E-Harmony match your personality with other people who have the same personality, likes, dislikes, etc. I feel these websites have changed the way people find true love. When two people are celebrating their marriage and someone asks "How did you two meet?" Usually you are not expecting to hear "the internet." You are probably expecting to hear a romantic story or a funny anecdote of the two meeting in real life. I feel when people use these sites, sure they may be accurate and helpful, but there is no spark! There physically could not have been love at first sight, unless you count seeing someone's profile picture as so.
I also feel as though online dating services are like cheat sheets for courting someone. You are supposed to meet the person several times and get to know the gradually. Not look over all of their favorite bands and movies (so you have something to talk about) before you dash out of the house to pick him or her up for dinner at his or her favorite restaurant listed online. That is not right to me! Although I have never had a romantic relationship in my life before, I stand by what I said above in terms of how I met all of my friends. I am still getting to know them everyday! Even the ones I have known for 18 years!
Although statistics may prove that online dating does in fact work for some people, I am against it. Go out into the real world and find your true love, they are waiting for you somewhere, it is one big game of hide and seek.