The Internet has grown so fast within the last few years that now it seems that everyone is connected. I can remember when it was a rarity to know a person that had a computer, and now it is a rarity to know someone without one, not to mention being connected to the World Wide Web. Being connected to the Web has changed the way people live their lives, for example the way they work, bank, play, learn, shop, voice their opinions, and socialize. I find it amazing that all of these things can be done in the privacy of ones own home. The most surprising out of all the things listed is socializing; how could one socialize from the privacy of their own home?

When the Internet was the newest thing, I would sit and watch the news and see stories about people meeting people over the net. Honestly my first thought was, What Dorks, the people that use the net as a pick up joint are all probably unattractive, and that is why they can't meet anyone in person. Then I started hearing a series of stories about people who gender bend or pretend to be someone who they are not, resulting in Internet attacks. Basically the two words Internet Relationships were synonymous with bad thoughts. Nobody I know would be involved in an Internet RelationshipRight?

As time went on I started to learn of Internet romances that have ended in long-term relationships, but none of which I have known personally. These stories were on the talk show circuit and on radio shows. Then one day in high school my close friend Jaime mentioned that she met a guy at Starbucks, she was so excited and I was excited for her. This relationship lasted for over a year; Jason attended all of our social events through high school and supported her after high school. Later Jaime approached me with the truth; they met in a chat room. She did not want to tell anyone because she thought it was weird. At the time I will admit I did think it was weird because Jaime was not unattractive, she was quite social and the same seemed to be true for Jason. This relationship did not work out, like most, but they had fun while it lasted. Since then I have known many more friends that have been involved in relationships on the web.

I met Melissa through working at a flower shop. Working at such a slow paced job gave us a lot of time to talk, we got to know each other very well and she became a close friend. And in the process of getting to know each other the question "Do you have a boyfriend?" arose. She said yes, and then naturally the following question was "Ohwhere did you meet?" The follow words came out of her mouth, and to this day I still laugh about them, she said they met at a Beanie Baby Convention. To say the least I thought that was very bazaar, but I accepted it and moved on. Much later I found out, that they met online. The first thing out of my mouth after I heard the truth was "Next time Melissa tell the truth because your Beanie Baby story is to weird."

Another interesting point is that most of the people I know that meet people this way are young people that have every outlet to socialize. Jaime, Melissa and few others are in college, work, and go out; my question is why did they have to resort to meeting people on the net?

There is a known danger in meeting people over the net, that is a fact. That person can be whomever they want to be on the other side of your screen. Why would someone put himself or herself in a position that is potentially dangerous? I have heard of there being numerous attacks on people who meet online. I have heard the excuse of "I saw a picture"; "I talked to him/her on the phone". Well there is no way in knowing if that picture is real or not. And you think you are safe just talking on the phone but who knows, that person could be able to track you. I would caution anyone that wants to meet someone this way to be safe, if there is such a way.

Although Internet relationships are more common now, I still think of them as being unreal or fake. I ask how could a person fall in love with someone who they have never seen. Call me shallow, but the absence of the electric feeling I get when my love touches me, the way he smiles and sounds, the smell of the cologne I got him for Christmas, the funny way he plays with his fingers when he gets nervous. These are all things that are important to my relationships that I can't help but feel are absent in an Internet Relationship. Sure communication is one of the single most important things that a couple needs to have a lasting relationship, and the Internet is a wonderful forum for that, but where is the other half, the sensual half. Communication is a huge part of a relationship but it is not everything. I believe there is a lack of that very important quality that may make an Internet relationship unreal.

I have many questions regarding this subject. Who are the people that meet on the net, Where do you meet? What's the relationship like? When do you eventually meet? Why would you want to meet someone this way? Are you worried about the risk? Is it like a traditional relationship? Which do you prefer Internet or Traditional? Before you got involved in a relationship, how did you feel about meeting people in the net? Would you do it again? Lastly where do you think Internet relationships are headed in the future? Hopefully, through interviews and web sites, these questions will lead to answers that give me a better understanding about Internet relationship and romances.

I thought it would be best to get information from people that have experienced an Internet relationship first hand. I interviewed three people that have different ideas about Internet relationships, but in some respects their stories are similar. Jaime who I mentioned before had a one-year relationship, three years ago. She is not a big computer user but she went through a phase. There is Melissa who I mentioned before, who met her fianci online, about two years ago. Melissa spends a lot of time on the web; she is very into computers. Then there is Eric who is going through an Internet romance at this moment. He uses certain aspects of the Internet mostly for school, Napster, and Instant Messenger.

Like I said Jaime had an encounter with an Internet relationship a few years ago, she meet Jason in a chat room accidentally, she was not looking for a man to get involved with, but it just happened. She now feels that socializing from the privacy of your own home is weird. Jaime feels " That people are not the same when they talk online." Meaning people seem to be less introverted when they don't have to deal with being face to face with someone. This can led to a false idea of the person that you are chatting with. The reason that Jaime started chatting was out of a sense of curiosity; she wanted to know who were the types of people that meet online. She feels now that "there are all types of people on the net, no specific type goes online." Jaime was also tried of the same old scene, there was so much pressure that goes along with meeting people, and talking on-line took some of the pressure off.

My next questions were directed to the actual relationship, and how Jaime felt about it. I asked if she felt that there was a missing half to here Internet romance. She said " No, because for her personality comes first, then comes the physical part." By the time she met Jason she knew him so well there was an automatic attraction. Jaime decided to meet Jason when she felt comfortable, and when she felt that she wanted to meet him face to face. Jaime pointed out that their relationship was just like any other, they just met on the Internet, it just happen to be that he lived close, so it worked out.

Jaime feels that traditional relationships and Internet relationships are pretty similar, if there is that natural progression, meaning that you chat then meet eventually. She believes that it is just another way of meeting just like at a bar or club. Although, she does prefer traditional relationships because "It is nice to know the whole picture."

I thought it was important to touch on the risk factors of meeting on the net. Jaime feels that there is a potential risk to meeting, but at the same time she, along with most feel like it will never happen to her. Looking back Jaime feels there was a danger in meeting Jason, even thought they met in a public place, but she did not see it at the time.

My final question to Jaime was; where did she think Internet relationships are headed? Jaime feels that the Internet relationship craze will fade out just like most things. New ways of meeting people are always on the horizon. But basically she feels people like the traditional way of meeting best.

On the other hand there is Melissa that is in a long-term relationship with her now fianci, Galynn. They met accidentally through Beanie Baby trading. Melissa feels that socializing from home is impersonal, that most people just do it for fun. She made it clear that socializing from home is not for everyone, some people need that face to face interaction. Melissa says that people meet by personal advertisements, and dating sites. She feels that this is a great way to meet because "You are going to a place where people want to meet people, and it's nice because people tend to be more up front, they know what they want and what they are looking for. Meeting people this way it nice because it cuts out the middle man." Like Jaime, Melissa basically feels that the Internet is just another way to meet somebody.

Melissa feels that her relationship with Galynn is pretty traditional, it started off very innocent, and things progressed. The difference is it all happened over the Internet and the phone instead of in person. She feels that "it does not matter where you meet the person, what matters is that you like the person." Melissa makes a good point in stating that someone can not have an Internet relationship for ever, there need to be progression in order for it to be a really relationship.

The risk factor was a big issue for Melissa; she warns anyone that is thinking about meeting someone online to be very careful. She believes that you need to feel safe, and to trust your intuitions, get a lot of information about them, and meet in a public place. Most of all you need to let someone know what you are doing, so if something does go wrong someone will know where you are. Melissa thinks a lot can be known about a person by the reason that they are chatting, it is important to know why they are there. Basically she feels that the Internet is a wonderful way to meet someone but you have to use your head just like if you meet someone at a bar.

Melissa feels that meeting people from the Internet and Internet relationships are just going to get bigger. She feels that the bad connotations surrounding the idea of Internet relationships will eventually fad. The four words that best describes how she feels about the Internet is that it is an "ever growing social circle."

Lastly there is Eric, He met a girl online accidentally, through using Napster. Rachel recognized his screen name. He uses his fraternity letters in his name, and she knows a lot of his brothers in New York where she lives and goes to school, so she instant messaged him. They have been taking for a couple of months on and off line. She it now planing a trip to Los Angles this May. Eric feels that socializing online is fine as long as it is not over done, then it becomes unhealthy. He believes that for some it is a more convenient way of meeting people, with common interests.

Eric feels strongly that there is a big difference between an Internet relationship and meeting people on the Internet. He feels that he met Rachel online but he is not in an Internet relationship. They have become close talking almost three times a week on the phone. He does agree that there is a missing part to his relationship with Rachel because they have never met. He will freely admit that a traditional relationship is better because he wants to be able to see the person that he is talking to.

Eric agrees with Melissa that Internet meeting and Internet relationships are only going to get bigger. He feels that it is already getting more socially acceptable, so in the future it is going to be even more socially acceptable. He also feels that the Internet is going to get more user friendly, which will make it easier for people to meet. Eric also points out that this is unfortunate because there is nothing like meeting someone in person.

Since I have heard a few of my friend's experiences with dating and meeting on line; I felt like I should look into the subject of online dating and relationships and see if it's as big as it seems to be. I have not had any pervious experience with this subject. I don't have American Online, I have never chatted online, not to mention going to dating and relationship web sites, this was certainly a new experience for me.

I first went to a couple of dating web sites called www.kiss.com and people2people . Both sites were very similar, there was a prompt that came up that asked for my information, including who is seeking who, what age range that you are interested in, what state and city you want to search in. This leads you to people's profiles that are in your range. I entered that I was a woman seeking a man between the age of twenty-one to twenty-five in the Los Angles, California area. Next I started to see men that matched the criteria that I was looking for. I could look through the many profiles and see if someone sparked my interest, and if they did I was able to get a hold of them by e-mail.

Next I decided to check out some chat rooms. I did not feel very comfortable doing this because I was not familiar with how the system worked. I started out with the search engine Altavista, I was going to type chat in the search bar, but as I scrolled down I found that there was an automatic link through Altavista.com . I clicked on chat and it led to a list of chat rooms that I might be interested in, I decided to chat by location, after asking for my location, a number of chat room were listed for my choosing. I entered one called chattown, I found that there were a number of people chatting and having different conversations. I entered another chat room devoted to college students and the same was true. People were having conversations, asking questions, and most of all trying to pick each other up.

By searching the net for Internet dating, romance and relationships it was apparent that there was not a lack of it online. There was a place for everyone, I found that you could go online at anytime of the day or night and there would be people chatting. There was a dating site for every nationality that could ever be thought of. Not to mention there was dating sits for every age group and type from thin to fat and from blond to brunet.

After going through interviews and surfing the net myself, I feel more open minded about how people meet people. At the beginning of my research I was rather closed minded about the subject of internet dating and relationships, now after seeing it first hand I have a different view on this way of meeting.

I believe that socializing from the privacy of your own home is fine. Having Internet access is like being in a gigantic coffee bar, were people can sit and read, chat with a friend, do work, and socialize, the difference is you do it with a touch of a finger. I don't see a problem with this, in fact I think it gives one the opportunity to meet and experience things that they would not necessary be able to experience. For example meeting people from around the world, without having to spend a thousand dollars on a plane ticket. I now believe that most don't resort to meeting people online it is something to do that is fun and entertaining.

Even thought I have known many people that meet others online, there is still a huge stereotype around this idea. Previously I believed that my friends were in the minority, but now I have come to believe my friends are really in the majority. For the most part people that talk online are just normal people that are having fun, but I do think there is an underlying shyness amongst the chatters.

Although many "normal" people chat and meet on line, there are still dangerous people on the web, not unlike the real world. Being aware of there being a potential risk is the first step in having a good experience online. Paying attention to your intuitions, and keeping your eye open to odd behavior are things that we do everyday so you should not put your guard down when you are online either. And if you do chose to meet, the most important thing you can do is tell someone where you are going to be at all times and meet in public.

Many of my initial ideas have changed about Internet relationships and meetings, although one has not. The idea that there is a missing half to strictly Internet, and phone relationships. I believe there has to be the aspect of a physical relationship, in order for you to have a true relationship. No one that I have talked to has denied this is true or showed me other wise. What I have learned was that most Internet romances and relationships end in a meeting that will result in staying together of braking up. So knowing that shows you immediately how important meeting face to face is to a successful relationship.

Going into this subject blind I feel like I came out of it with a lot of knowledge, not just about Internet relationship and dating, but about people. In an ever-growing society of working people there is a convenience to sitting down in front of your computer and socializing. There are many benefits to this, no pressure, a change of scenery, millions of people who want to talk, and the chance that you might meet that one person that is just like you. The Internet is an "ever growing social circle" that I don't think is going to stop anytime soon, so for now log on, have fun and do not feel like a dork.