I have friends who have met and married their spouses through online dating. You probably do too. The PewResearch Internet Project reports that
. . . one in ten Americans have used an online dating site or mobile dating app themselves, and many people now know someone else who uses online dating or who has found a spouse or long-term partner via online dating.
In fact Christian Rudder, the co-founder of OkCupid, a popular online dating site , wrote about the data his site gathered on people who are registered there. All of the data reported in his book, Dataclysm: Who we are (When We Think No One’s Looking), is anonymous and aggregated, so there is no data that can be identified as specific to any given individual. Rudder believes that online activity is changing how we behave, how we see ourselves…maybe even who we are.
So when I got an email this morning from Addiction Professional Magazine offering a free webinar entitled Falling in Love Through Technology: The Risks of Online Dating taught by Lori Jean Glass, Program Director at Five Sisters Ranch, I was intrigued. After all, it is certain that behavioral health clients are among the 10% of U.S. adults who are using online dating sites. This webinar is aimed at mental health and addiction professionals and will be held on Wednesday, December 17, 2014.
Learning Objectives
- Discuss why online dating / relationship seeking may or may not be suited for their attachment style.
- Assess how addictive personalities can ignite relapse with drugs and alcohol with on-line relationship hunting.
- Recommend appropriate intervening tools for addictive online relationship challenges.
What do you think about online dating and relationships, for yourself or for your clients? Do you think there is risk involved? I hope some of you will register for the webinar and share your thoughts here.
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