What is the impact of social networking sites on the individual?

What impact have Facebook and other social networking sites (not dating sites) had on dating and flirting?

• Answer:

  Well first off, a lot of dating sites e.g Tinder connect with Facebook to get your profile info and your photos. Especially Facebook has changed the game quite a bit. Never before has it been possible to find almost any real human being in the western world online with real name, real profile info (lots of info) and real photos. It's harder to use Facebook for dating nowadays with all the privacy precautions but what kind of Fb profile you have (if any) still speaks volumes about you. For example: It's totally clear that your date will look you up on Facebook before the first meeting and judge you based on what she sees. Actually my girlfriend and I have got to know each other on Facebook. I searched for women who studied law in Vienna. She showed up in the results, so I sent her a message and the rest is history. :) I am no expert in Twitter but I'll guess that it hasn't had a big impact on dating but since it's possible to direct message a person you follow I believe that is going to change. It's not going to play a role like Facebook but I guess it can be quite useful and interesting. The same holds true for all other social networks with a private messaging functionality. Just my 50 cents :)