There is no question that online dating opens up a world of possibilities for single men and women that would otherwise not be available to them. But is it an avenue worth exploring? Let's run through the pros and cons.  The pros In a sense, by allowing you to specify what exactly you're looking for -- say, a lad who doesn't smoke, enjoys sports, and has sworn off marriage -- these sites take a lot of the pesky guesswork out of the dating grind. You can swap pictures and engage in phone/video chats prior to meeting in person, which can help you both assess compatibility.  Plus, it's much less nerve-racking to "approach" someone virtually than it is cold turkey at a loud nightclub where they might be surrounded by friends.  As with all else, there are drawbacks There are definite downsides to online dating. I know this from personal experience, as I met a few ladies in person back in the day whom I'd first stumbled upon via America Online. For those Gen Zer...

If you're like me, you've noticed many of your Facebook friends (or acquaintances, or people you've known since kindergarten but seldom talk to, or those who might be friends of friends of friends) fleeing the platform like it's no one's business.  But why the exodus?  It's quite simple: People have grown tired of the same old same old.  Many would concede there are benefits to logging on every so often -- from catching timely news to distracting oneself with trending memes or videos of the week. But being barraged with baby pictures and vacation photos for days on end becomes a little tough to stomach after a while.  Granted, some people mean no harm in sharing these special moments with others. It's their way of conveying to the world that they're making the most of their lives and are grateful for the things and people that enrich them. We should try our best to be happy for them, even if we may harbor a smidgen of concealed envy.  However, people und...

I came across the following quote on Facebook earlier today: "Fifteen years ago, the internet was an escape from the real world. Now, the real world is an escape from the internet."  The quote is attributed to Noah Smith, a professor of finance. What Smith is essentially saying is that we seem to "live" digitally now more than we do the traditional way. It makes perfect sense. If you're like me, you probably communicate more with friends and family via email, text, WhatsApp, or social media than you do in person. You're likely shopping more online than you do at brick-and-mortar stores. And you're probably watching movies more frequently through services like Netflix than at the movie theater. While there's no question the convenience the internet affords us has made our lives easier in myriad ways, it's also made human interaction much more impersonal. If you'd asked me in the 90s whether relatives and friends would someday wish ...

My wife and I have been together for 12 years, and it took me about a decade to realize that she isn't big on taking, posting, or scrapbooking pictures of us. I always assumed that not only did women enjoy showing off pictures of themselves and their significant other to the world, but they were always inclined to wear the photographer hat in the relationship. Not so in mine. That task has fallen on my shoulders. I have found myself taking the lion's share of photos for occasions big and small -- whether at birthday parties or while on vacation. Not only that but I've been diligent in posting them on Facebook and maintaining an album that includes pictures and keepsakes from our different trips, like movie tickets, museum passes, etc. Eventually, I started taking this a bit personally and brought it to my wife's attention. She insisted it had nothing to do with me and stated she's never been a big picture person to begin with. She's self-conscious abou...

I know a couple of people who have cancelled their Facebook accounts within the past three months.  Could this be the start of a mass exodus? Could people really be leaving Facebook in droves? I sincerely doubt it, as Facebook has close to 2 billion users worldwide. Still, one has to wonder whether many people are beginning to grow tired of the routine. Over the years, Facebook has become a breeding ground for narcissists and attention hounds. I have a couple of Facebook friends who check in at and post pictures (in real time) of nearly every venue they visit while on vacation. This includes everything from restaurants to before-I-go-to bed selfies at the hotel. It's really gotten out of control. Can't people leave anything to the imagination anymore? Can't they put the phone down and just enjoy their vacations? Why not leave the posting of pictures for later, once they're back in town? I'm not saying Facebook is all bad. It's a great medium on whi...

Mashable.com recently published an article about a guy who made an unexpected find while traveling near Santa Cristina, Italy. It is there that he stumbled upon a familiar sight: the very view that he had set as his picture background on his phone. The picture is of Langkofel and Plattkofel in the Dolomites mountain range in Northeastern Italy. He says he originally set it as his background picture because he was looking for beautiful towns to visit while in Italy. Coincidental, isn't it? I can only imagine the guy's reaction upon beholding the mountains in person: "Hey, that looks familiar..." If you think that's an odd story, you haven't heard about my trip to Walt Disney World one year. I took a plethora of pictures as I always do while on vacation. Upon close inspection of one of the pictures, I noticed that an old friend from elementary school (who lived in the same city as me at the time) appeared in the background!  I didn't even know sh...

Judging from the content of some people's Facebook posts and how frequently I see them come up on my Wall, it would seem that they have the perfect life. For example, a girl I've known since elementary school, who has two kids from different fathers, posts almost every day that she LOVES her new boyfriend. Then there are those women who engage in what I like to call "child worship." They post an endless barrage of baby pictures with such captions as "my happy family." I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these types of posts, or that people are never being truthful in them, but why must they disseminate them so often? Call me crazy, but when someone has to come out and say "I'm happy, look at me" several times each week, it smells of pretentiousness and leads me to think they're anything but. I know that parents have it rough the first five or so years of a child's life, but what good would posts detailing their ...

Well, technology is partly to blame. The daguerreotype, introduced worldwide in 1839, was the first widely used photographic process. The exposure time in those early days was really long, sometimes lasting over 15 minutes. You could imagine how arduous a task it must have been for people to hold a smile that long. Getting your picture taken in the 19th century didn't come cheap. Most people had only one picture taken their whole lives, so the event itself was a big deal. Those with the wherewithal to have several pictures taken probably felt smiling didn't communicate classiness, so they refrained from doing it. Furthermore, at the turn of the century, smiling became more popular with the advent of the camera. Not only did they become more affordable and easier to use over time, but it became customary to use them for casual snapshots -- something those living in the mid-1800s might never have envisaged. Little did those folks know that selfies with cell phone cameras ...

Just when we thought the folks at Facebook had thought of everything... For years now, Facebook users have availed of the "Like" button for everything from friends' baby pictures to relatives' funny videos. Meanwhile, though, they clamored for something that had seemingly missed the head honchos' radar screens until now: a "Dislike" button. We spoke, and Zuckerberg and company heard us loud and clear. It turns out that they now have a "dislike" button in the works. I can see good and bad things coming out of this. On the plus side, people can now use the new button for content of a serious or negative nature that just didn't seem appropriate to like, such as posts about people suffering from illnesses, layoffs, divorces, and so on. However, I can imagine some people's feathers getting ruffled at finding that someone "disliked" something they've posted. For example, I don't drink and can't stand it when ...

I can't help but notice how some women seem intent on upstaging each other on Facebook. What was once a platform for merely catching up with buddies has become an outlet for posting more selfies, pictures of children, or photos of vacations than one's friends -- and getting as many "likes" for them as possible. You might be wondering why the title mentions only women. It's because, from what I've observed, men seem a little more Facebook shy. I hardly see my male friends post anything other than humorous pictures ("memes") and videos. If I do happen to see them in pictures or videos, it's usually their wives or girlfriends doing the posting. In other words, it appears that women generally make the Facebook experience much more personal than men, as if they desire more attention and validation from others. They seem to be far more showy, with posts showcasing new dresses, jewelry, or their kids' diplomas. I'm not saying that all wome...

I don't know if it's just me, but I'm noticing that a lot of my friends have been less active on Facebook these days. Are we getting busier, or is the site's popularity starting to wane? About a year ago, I told some of my closest friends that I predicted the social networking behemoth would eventually go the way of MySpace. It's to be expected of all these sites: They are simply fads. Once something new comes along -- I don't know what that will be but I'm sure Google or another of these huge companies has something in the works -- people gravitate toward it. The same applies to a wealth of consumer products we purchase and use every day -- from clothing to cars. I know a lot of people -- myself among them -- who sometimes feel like their friends go overboard by posting on Facebook the most minute details of their lives on a daily basis, from what they're having for dinner to why they hardly got any sleep last night. We all want to keep in touch, bu...

I've noticed that more and more people take to Facebook these days to submit posts about how "happy" they are. To boot, they post a seemingly endless stream of pictures with their kids, relatives, etc. The question is: Beneath the surface, are these people truly happy, or are they simply putting up a front? Do they find the need to post about how happy they are to compensate for the fact that they're not, or to attempt to reassure themselves and the world that they really are? I'm not saying these people can't in fact be happy. But what's the point of saying it? It's like when a person says to you "I'm not mad, just forget about it." Well, if she was never asked whether she was mad, more than likely, she is tacitly admitting she is. Studies have shown that the more a person posts selfies and other self-absorbed posts on Facebook, the more likely he or she is to have narcissistic tendencies. Whenever I post something on my Facebook...

Studies have revealed that if you're inclined to reminisce about past events, you'd be wise to turn to pictures, movies, and/or music. Such media, the studies suggest, help us recall prior events and experiences that we may have trouble recollecting otherwise. And this makes complete sense. How many times have you heard a song that has taken you back to your high school days? How many times have you looked at pictures that have brought back memories of old friends or flames? And how often have you watched a movie and wondered what you were doing in your life when the movie was originally released? I consider pictures, movies, and music to be windows to our past. I love employing these mediums to take a trip down memory lane and remember some of happiest moments I've ever experienced up until now. Don't ever neglect taking a camera or tape recorder with you whenever you're slated to experience a potentially life-altering event. It'll give you somethin...

I've noticed a trend when poring over my Facebook Wall posts: It's usually women who love submitting posts about anything and everything in their lives, from pictures of the foods they eat at restaurants to videos of their newborns. Yet, most men don't seem to share this inclination to publicize everything. Sure, they post pictures and other content here and there, but not to the same degree as their female counterparts. Is it that women are simply trying to outdo other women? It's a well-known fact that women size each other up all the time. Women keenly observe how other women dress, their bodies, their hair, and even their mannerisms. Whether in the workplace or at the club, they are always in competition with each other. Now, that's not to say that men aren't competitive with one another, but I've seen it happen more often with the fairer sex -- and the latter tend to be less subtle about it. I've noted in earlier posts that Facebook is becom...

We all have friends who love disclosing on Facebook virtually everything that pops to mind. From pictures of their lunch to videos of them doing silly things, people are using the social networking site to fill people in on their daily goings-on. Facebook has removed the need to call people on the phone and wish them a Happy Birthday, to mail people pictures of our kids, or to show up at people's houses to tell them about promotions or engagements. Facebook lets us do it all at the click of a button. Now, there isn't anything inherently wrong with this. But some people go a step too far by boasting of every fancy restaurant they go to and every vacation trip they go on. Why must people post such pics in real time and not just wait until they're back home to do so? Sometimes this screams "Haha...I'm here and you're not. Sucks for you." I think some people do this to overcompensate for something lacking in their lives. Some also try to paint a rosier pic...