Before I was a ten, my mother was desperate to leave her home state and met a man online/a romantic post, moving states away. Had to be 1997, 1998.

Where i grew up no one had my values or my interests. My spouse of 10+ years i met on a free MMO back in 2010s we both happened to play and got to know each other there, then after a year chatting daily on cam, phone calls, and dms we met up.

So “meeting online” is really vague and can mean a lot of things. It’s also gone from being new, some dating apps may help people connect, to being enshittified. Never used it for dating but OK cupid WAS ok at looking for like minded friends for like a second.

But people sharing hobbies and falling for each other probably will always happen even as the apps suck.

I wouldn’t have found someone geographically near me with my same morals and hopes and wants out of life. I have never found “my parents and your parents birthed us here and so maybe we should get married” to be enough common ground.