I find it really amusing how the different cultural attitudes appear to be merging.

I mean I'm sure that a few years ago, lots of Asians and Arabs would have been appalled by the idea of casual dating, and those amoral Europeans/Americans, they even sign up to internet dating sites, and they have online romances and get involved in relationships with total strangers!

Whereas, I guess lots of European/American would have been appalled by the idea of traditional Asian and Arab arranged marriages and matchmaking services, thought it was too restrictive.

But now the two ideas are merging somewhat with the increasing popularity of internet dating/matchmaking sites. I mean you have sites like Shaadi.com for Indian marriage arranging. But then lots of 'dating' sites ask you to fill in questionnaires and tick boxes asking whether you are interested in casual dating or a long term relationship or marriage.

So even Americans/Europeans are getting more into the idea of screening potential partners based on their attitudes towards marriage, i.e. if they're looking for marriage, they'll exclude all the potential matches who aren't interested in marriage, and only consider those who want the same.

What's the difference? Except you still get a lot of Americans/Europeans looking down on the idea of arranged marriage, even though they're practicing the same selection techniques themselves, making sure the other person wants the same kind of relationship, i.e. dating or marriage, looking at the person's educational background and qualifications, looking at their job and their earning potential.

So I find it quite amusing when people say they are really against arranged marriages.

NB: Arranged marriages are different to forced marriages, here I'm talking about arranged marriages.