8C THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SEX on the HILL
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
Kim Wallace
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDANT
[thedatebook?] Online dating has ups and downs
What was considered dangerous and taboo during our high
school years is now thought of as friendly, fun and far less intimidating than before.
Internet dating through every public university's new hotbed for hookups, www.facebook.com is as common as text messaging during class. But what makes facebook.com different from participating in a singles chatroom or placing a personal ads in a newspaper?
Students agree that facebook.com's "college-only" (and just recently "high school-only") environment is more appealing and creates a sense of security that other dating services cannot offer.
The couple decided to wait until they met in person and could really interact with each other before making anything official. Move-in day happened to be the day when Cunningham and Anderson crossed paths.
"Abby was literally two people behind me when I was moving in. We really just wanted to get moved in before anything else, though." Anderson said.
The couple has been together since the beginning of the semester, and they have found their relationship to be a positive aspect of their lives.
stretched to include exchanging personal information such as relationship status and sexual and romantic preferences. Though this information may seem harmless at first glance, it can make the user a vulnerable target to unwanted messages and flirtations.
Abby Cunningham, Silver Lake freshman, found her boyfriend, Spencer Anderson, Overland Park freshman, through facebook.com during the summer. She did a random search for people who would be living in McCollum Hall during the fall.
Elizabeth, St. Louis sophomore, who asked that her last name not be used, received a message from a random
"People don't really care or make a big deal out of us meeting on facebook. It's pretty standard." Anderson said.
ire to approach her, though he never did. At the time Elizabeth had her room number listed on her profile. Red flags went up, and she reported the incident to her resident assistant.
"I was interested in meeting new people in my dorm. I wasn't really looking for anybody. I was just browsing through the pictures and then I clicked on his profile," she said. "We had a lot of the same interests, especially in music, so we just messaged back and forth for a little over a month before coming to KU."
Although facebook.com opens a line of communication among college students, the initial purpose of the Web site has
"I was advised to eliminate myself from facebook and was told that this wasn't unusual, because Student Housing had dealt with other incidents involving facebook," she said.
Meeting potential mates through facebook.com has removed almost every chance of rejection. The instant gratification of messaging or "poking" someone on facebook.com cuts out the awkward first conversations and dead silences. Humiliation hardly exists in the online community, because the chances of actually running into the person who didn't reply to your advances are slim.
After avoiding the Web site for
The user continued to message her and told her of his de-
user who complimented her on how attractive she was after he had seen her earlier that day. The two lived in the same residence hall.
"I had never seen him before, and he would say things to me and then describe what I was wearing that day," Elizabeth said. "I responded politely and figured he wouldn't bother me anymore since I didn't show any interest."
over, she logged back in and within a week's time the same user began to message her again.
Instead of removing her profile again, Elizabeth told her new boyfriend (whom she did not meet on facebook.com) about the matter, and he intervened.
"It was at most a couple of days before he was messaging me and asking all these personal questions again," she said.
"After my boyfriend said
Even though this incident occurred, Elizabeth continues to use facebook.com, though not for dating, and is more careful about what she lets other users see.
"I don't have any contact information listed on my profile. It's still a great way to communicate with people from out of town and at school. I'd rather facebook a message to somebody than e-mail them."
Edited by Becca Evanhoe
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