More and more young people are finding new and creative ways to meet. Internet dating sites, Myspace, Facebook and other on line sites are in vogue. It’s a whole new world, but the love story in the New York Times Sunday Style Section on April 24th, is even more unique. Imagine meeting playing a video game. Tamara Langman and John Benttely did just that on “The World of Warcraft.”

“World of Warcraft is a vast online game where monsters are meant to be vanquished, but it is also a social networking experience” where the players can interact in a world of fantasy. And so the two people above found a quiet spot to sit and play their avatar game. “Hours evaporated as they discussed everything from their families to their futures.” The story ends happily. The two young people arranged to meet, fell in love and are still together after two years.

By playing an online fantasy game, the two people are able to connect and reveal themselves in a more intimate way than they could in person and it appears to lead up to actual real life connections. “It’s giving people something that they’re missing in the real world”, said Ramona Pringle, an interactive media producer and a professor of new media at the Ryerson School of Image Arts in Toronto.

It appears to be an exciting, new age, safe and creative way of making connections.

Dianne Heller Kaminsky, LCSW, BCD

Got thoughts or opinions on this topic? A helpful anecdote you want to share? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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