Social Networking Site or Matrimonial Site

In earlier times, marriages in India were arranged by parents and families of the couple. However, with the internet revolution, marriages are now also fixed online matrimony sites. Two popular options of finding a suitable partner through the internet are online matrimonial sites and social networking sites. In this article, we look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Online matrimonial sites:

There are several of these matrimony sites, which are used by people for finding their perfect match. People need to include their basic details and they can start getting proposals. It is not necessary that the couples register themselves on these sites; even family members such as parents or siblings can register on their behalf.

Advantages:

• Created solely for the purpose of matchmaking, and so provide the option to include all relevant details related to marriage, such as income, qualifications, community, family background, and horoscope details


• Provide access to a wide range of individuals who are looking for a match


• Option to take premium or paid membership, which provide better features and improves the chances of finding a match


• Family members can matrimony sites the profile of individuals, and shortlist or reject profiles


• Most of these sites have their own messaging platforms, which allow people to interact with each other

Disadvantages:

• Generally people show their best side on such sites, so it is difficult to make an assessment about their true personality


• It is difficult to differentiate between fake profiles and true profiles because these websites cannot perform any verification of the information entered by people. For example, people can mention a higher income or a higher qualification, which may not be true.

Social networking sites:

Social networking sites are also popular destinations for connecting people with each other. These sites have several options that allow people to share information.

Advantages:

• People can see the real self of their prospective partner, including likes, dislikes, opinions, friend circles, past history, etc.


• The interaction is informal and without pressure, which helps people in interacting more freely


• Social networking is usually a popular choice among the youth


• It is easy to perform a reference check on individuals if there are any mutual or common friends


• Sites like Facebook provide an easy option to chat and share pictures, etc.


• It is comparatively eases to distinguish if a profile is fake based on things like unusually low number of friends, or very few likes and comments, or less pictures

Disadvantages:

• They are not specifically designed for marriage, and so people can't assess prospective partners on important marriage-related criteria such as income or community


• It is difficult to search for only those who are looking for a marriage partner


• While the risk of fake profiles is less when compared to matchmaking websites, the risk remains because even social networking sites don't perform any verification of information.

Overall, both social networking sites and matrimony sites are a boon to the new-age prospective bride or groom. However, both have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to choose one over the other.