“How do the cultural clashes between the traditional Indian culture and the emergence of technology such as text messaging and internet dating effect romantic relationships in India?”
In India the use of the internet is still limited to those from the upper class or higher middle class. Those people are also the ones who has come the furthest in handling with the emerging cultural collision. Because of this I will not try to describe my answer in a way that will take in consideration the whole Indian society but instead focus on the phenomena of internet dating and being a single woman from one of the higher classes.
One important thing to know is that In India the majority of girls get married in the age of 18-22. Therefore the pressure can get huge on unmarried girls when they proceed towards 25 or even their 30th birthday. Still more and more women from the upper classes wait with marriage to focus on them selves and their careers.
While forced marriages are no longer rampant, community wide pressure are still felt by many. Societal pressure plays a major role in dominating the individual thought process and as a result many women choose getting settled just because it’s the right thing to do.
Marriage, education and having children are all considered milestones in the Indian society. And many people find it very hard to accept a person, especially a woman, being unmarried beyond a certain age. And while the women themselves can be cool with their life and career that doesn’t mean their families or societies will.
And it’s probably not because of ill will or a control demand that families are putting pressure on their daughters. It’s out of concern and for their “own best”.
Internet sites has opened a new way to meet people and it’s a way that can be investigated without the parents knowing your dating. It’s also a way to meet people without chaperones and all the fuzz.
It is a vehicle of social change in a country where pre-marital relationships are frowned upon. The availability and accessibility of the Internet offers India’s urban youth the opportunity to meet each another and to converse without fear of being socially rebuked.
It is also so, that because most people marry early it can be hard to find partners availably when you walks towards your thirties. Then internet actually can be a huge help and a good option for many.
And as it says in the article What women wants – “The Internet is also a feminist tool for empowering women who do not see the need of waiting for someone else to arrange their marriage, or for the groom to visit several brides before making his choice. It gives women who until now have not had the opportunity, the choice to make friends from members of the opposite sex, without fear of social rebuttal”.
And because it’s not very hard to write an email and the distance and anonymity on the internet makes the thought of rejection less psychological challenging, it’s not strange that many people are trying it.
Some sites also complement their service with match making. From the results of a personality test one are matched together with people that considered to the companies calculations should be suitable partners.
This is interesting when considered that the Indian society still in high extent pair together young people. In this way the Internet now can replaced the traditional matchmaker or communicator in Indian arranged marriages.
The dating sites could now not only be a place for innocent flirts but also a place for recruiting base for mothers and fathers searching for a suitable man for their daughter.
Here they can choose a husband from geographical settlement, age, appearance, income etc. Logically this would be an enormous progress and a more safe way of finding the daughters perfect match. On a dating site you have access to the information of thousands and thousands of potential partners. Here, if anywhere, is the opportunity to make the perfect choice.
