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Recently, a young man asked me out on Facebook and upon us communicating on the phone; he began to run down a list of information he found out about me via various online sources and I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered or cautious.

He knew my age, the school I went to, some of my hobbies and a few other things…. I was like okayyyyyyy. He even quoted something I wrote on Global Grind haha.

So, I did the obvious… I posted my question on my Facebook wall LOL – “should I be flattered or cautious about someone researching me prior to going out”

And trust me the comments and perspectives ran the gambit; however majority of the post had a negative view on the “digital dig” or what I like to call the new “innocent” background check.

But I had to ask myself, were the negative responses because the guy TOLD ME he did some online research on me or because THE RESEARCH itself was done….

Because upon meeting a guy, I’ve checked out their facebook page or type their name into Google to see what came up.

But did I cheat a little bit on getting to know the person or was I being smart and participating in the “new age” of dating and/or being proactive?

I am not sure…

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I have a theory about the digital divine… The more technology we embrace, the more impersonal we become. And the trippy part is I am a total technology junkie :oD – I can’t get enough of the stuff. From Myspacing to Facebook to twitter to texting to email… The dynamic of the traditional meeting place and courting methods have become digital.

The internet is the home of the meeting, courting, dating and the infamous digital digg–courtesy of Google and other social communities.

Facebook alone has over 400 million active users worldwide and 1.5 million people use the application on their smartphones on a regular basis.

So that’s a lot of personal information floating out there, so is it ok to peak before dating, going out with a person or even having the 1st personal conversation?

Don’t get me wrong tons of people utilize the internet to meet the love of their lives, maintain long-distance relationship, sometimes find out “dirt” during their relationship LOL but is the “digital digg” the new un-spoken for dating prerequisite?