Abstract

The importance of dating can never be over emphasized as it is a prerequisite that should be considered before going into any form of courtship that can either lead to marriage or not. As a result of the dramatic increase in Internet usage, there has been a proliferation of numerous online dating sites that allow people to meet and date in a virtual environment. This form of socialization has been perceived by many to be either a blessing or a curse depending on individuals’ opinions and experiences due to the present level of increase in divorce rate among those who are married. The study considered the perception of online dating in sustaining marriages. This study employed descriptive statistics using quantitative research methodology which involves the use of questionnaires as the research instrument and the questionnaire. Data used for the analysis were collected with the use of a well-structured questionnaire administered to 50 respondents in the PhD family wholeness class of 2015/2016 and the analysis was done with the help of Statistical Package Service Solution (SPSS) version 21.0. The sample size was chosen based on Convenience Sampling method. Our finding shows that 26.2% of the respondents are within 21-30 years age range, 38.1% fall into 31-40 age bracket, and 23.8% are within the 41-50 years age range. 64.3% of the respondents are married while 35.7% are single. However, 51% of the respondents admitted that dating and marrying an online friend is possible if only the person has a good heart and fears God. Furthermore, 72.61% of the respondents do not believe that online dating can lead to sustainable marriage while 27.39% of the population sampled believes otherwise. The result of the analysis evidenced that a larger percentage of the population surveyed do not accept that online dating can actually lead to a sustainable marriage. The study recommends that while people may engage in online dating, it is advisable they meet physically to become more acquainted before considering marriage.