Love and the web

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine and explain how the landscape of personal relationships is changing through new means of technologies such as the Internet. Nowadays, increasing numbers of individuals are getting to know each other, and falling in love, thanks to this form of communication. In order to understand and analyse this phenomenon from a sociological perspective, I have carried out exploratory research on the situation in Italy. We conducted a series of interviews and constructed the histories of the lives of Italians who, by navigating, fell in love with their correspondents and got involved in affairs with, more or less, happy endings. We were thus able to discover that, behind this virtual world, there are real feelings, emotions, hopes and dreams. Often, on the computer, anonymity and the barrier of the screen allow people to be more spontaneous, sincere, true and genuine with each other than they might be in real life. True love affairs according to Francesco Alberoni's definition are born. However, meeting in person, which must happen sooner or later, can result in losing what might have been gained up to that point. As in every challenge, many end up as losers and few as winners.