Online romance - Casting the net wider

THE internet is the great empowering tool of the age but there are many aspects of it that can give pause for justifiable concern.

Parents are rightly worried about how their children can be targeted or come in contact with material that might disturb an unformed mind. It would be naive too to be too trusting with credit card or personal details but there are great opportunities online too.

It’s easy to rattle off earnest platitudes about education, business and even the Arab Spring but hundreds of Irish people, and probably millions around the world, are making the most important decision of their life because of the way the internet has expanded their horizons. At least 200 couples in Ireland have married after they met online. Bringing people together and, hopefully, making them happy — what better function can any technology have?