For most people, however, digital dating o?ers better outcomes. Research has found that marriages in America between people who meet online are likely to last longer; such couples profess to be happier than those who met o?ine. The whi? of moral panic surrounding dating apps is vastly overblown. Precious little evidence exists to show that opportunities online are encouraging infidelity. In America, divorce rates climbed until just before the advent of the internet, and have fallen since.

然而，對(duì)大多數(shù)人而言，網(wǎng)戀確實(shí)產(chǎn)生了更好的效果。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)通過(guò)網(wǎng)戀認(rèn)識(shí)的美國(guó)伴侶婚姻存續(xù)時(shí)間更加長(zhǎng)；這些伴侶聲稱(chēng)比那些線下認(rèn)識(shí)的伴侶更加開(kāi)心。伴隨網(wǎng)戀 APP 所產(chǎn)生的道德恐慌被夸大了?，F(xiàn)有的少數(shù)證據(jù)表明互聯(lián)網(wǎng)增加了出軌的機(jī)會(huì)。在美國(guó)，離婚率隨著互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的出現(xiàn)的上升，隨即下降。

Online dating is a particular boon for those with very particular requirements. Jdate allows daters to filter out matches who would not consider converting to Judaism, for instance. A vastly bigger market has had dramatic results for same-sex daters in particular. In America, 70% of gay people meet their partners online. This searchable spectrum of sexual diversity is a boon: more people can find the intimacy they seek.

網(wǎng)戀對(duì)于那些有著特別需求的人群而言?xún)?yōu)勢(shì)明顯。比如 Jdate 可以挑選出那些不考慮皈依到猶太教的人群。而對(duì)于同性伴侶之間的約會(huì)卻戲劇性的產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)更大的市場(chǎng)。在美國(guó)，70% 的同性者通過(guò)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)認(rèn)知伴侶。這種可搜索的性別差異光譜產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)益處：更多的人可以找到所需的伴侶。

There are problems with the modern way of love, however. Many users complain of stress when confronted with the brutal realities of the digital meat market, and their place within it. Negative emotions about body image existed before the internet, but they are amplified when strangers can issue snap judgments on attractiveness. Digital dating has been linked to depression. The same problems that afflict other digital platforms recur in this realm, from scams to fake accounts: 10% of all newly created dating profiles do not belong to real people.

然而，現(xiàn)代化的戀愛(ài)存在一些問(wèn)題。許多用戶抱怨在數(shù)字化的“性市場(chǎng)”中所遇見(jiàn)的殘酷的現(xiàn)實(shí)問(wèn)題，以及用戶在市場(chǎng)中的地位。個(gè)人身材形象所導(dǎo)致的負(fù)面情緒在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)誕生之前就已經(jīng)存在，而當(dāng)陌生人可以對(duì)這種形象品頭論足的時(shí)候就放大的這個(gè)問(wèn)題。網(wǎng)戀和負(fù)面情緒息息相關(guān)。困擾著其他數(shù)字平臺(tái)的問(wèn)題也同樣發(fā)生在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域，比如詐騙到虛假賬戶。新創(chuàng)建的賬戶中有 10% 并不是真人使用。

This new world of romance may also have unintended consequences for society. The fact that online daters have so much more choice can break down barriers: evidence suggests that the internet is boosting interracial marriages by bypassing homogenous social groups. But daters are also more able to choose partners like themselves. Assortative mating, the process whereby people with similar education levels and incomes pair up, already shoulders some of the blame for income inequality. Online dating may make the e?ect more pronounced: education levels are displayed prominently on dating pro?les in a way they would never be o?ine. It is not hard to imagine dating services of the future matching people by preferred traits, as determined by uploaded genomes. Dating ?rms also su?er from an inherent conflict of interest. Perfect matching would leave them bereft of paying customers.

這種新式的羅曼史同樣對(duì)于社會(huì)產(chǎn)生了不可預(yù)料的后果。網(wǎng)戀的人選擇如此眾多以至于打破了一些壁壘：有證據(jù)表明互聯(lián)網(wǎng)因其可以避開(kāi)不同種族之間的隔離，使得不同種族之間的通婚率上升。但網(wǎng)戀者同樣也更加傾向于選擇那些更像他們自己的伴侶。門(mén)當(dāng)戶對(duì)的約會(huì)，也就是擁有類(lèi)似受教育程度和收入水平約會(huì)，已經(jīng)承擔(dān)了部分對(duì)于收入差距的批評(píng)。網(wǎng)戀可能會(huì)加劇這種現(xiàn)象：因?yàn)榻逃街苯釉谟脩舻馁Y料中展現(xiàn)，而線下約會(huì)卻不會(huì)。不難想象未來(lái)的網(wǎng)戀服務(wù)將會(huì)通過(guò)那些通過(guò)上傳的基因所確定特點(diǎn)來(lái)配對(duì)。相親公司同樣受內(nèi)在興趣愛(ài)好的困擾。完美的配對(duì)將會(huì)使得他們失去那些付費(fèi)用戶。