Social media sweetening the experience

PITTSFIELD he captain of the football team's parents were out of town for the weekend, so after a night of rabblerousing, a group swelling with Pittsfield High School pride headed to his house to cap the evening with a keg to celebrate a win over Taconic.

It perhaps would have been just another night of teenage revelry, except that the football captain was a cardiologist who flew to Pittsfield from Oregon; he and his peers graduated 25 years ago, and they organized the entire event on Facebook.

The PHS Class of 1985's 25th reunion last summer - three days of charitable events, flag football and parties that drew more than 200 classmates out of a class of about 400 - is a sign of how middle- agers are reinventing their high school reunions in the digital age.

Because social media offers an instant answer to the question "What is Mary Sue up to these days?" reunions are forced to assert new meaning or face extinction.

"It totally was because of Facebook that we got together," said Stephen Merriam, a California entertainer who organized the PHS Class of 1985 reunion, held last July. "Someone threw me a snowball, and I rolled it down the hill."

Merriam, who said he hadn't been connected with Pittsfield at all since graduation, got on Facebook to promote his wedding officiation business and found hoards of former classmates. After a "mini" reunion, he began a Facebook group named for the class.

In the end, the class raised money for several scholarships and a PHS garden, made donations to the Christian Center, and is supporting fixing the dome atop the high school. The class also held a golf tournament, a flag football game against their old Taconic rivals, and a redcarpet, Hollywood-themed night of dinner and dancing at Berkshire Hills Country Club.

Erika von Hoyer, a 1985 PHS graduate who now works for a social media marketing firm in Pennsylvania, said her class reunion was a success because, largely through social media, the event had new meaning.

"The event was about more than 'us' - it was about giving back," she said in an email. "Classmates understood that their participation was going to mean something to the community."

Social media also helps to reduce the anxiety of the unknown, von Hoyer said. In reunions nowadays, former classmates already know before you arrive that you've lost hair, are overweight, or are on your own.

But don't worry - they are, too.

Christian Internet Dating For Believers | DATING TOOLS AND ADVICES

Christian internet dating has caught up to the other mainstream dating sites. Now that one in five couples who are dating met on an online site, Christians can share in the benefits of meeting like-minded people on the internet. Getting with the program and signing up with a good and helpful site will make a huge difference in the search for the love of your life.

Before getting in to the details about Christian internet dating, a short discussion about safety is important to have. Do not become nervous from the occasional reports of online dating violence. Unfortunately most of those bad encounters happened because a few common sense measures were neglected.

The biggest rule to follow is to always, always meet in a public place. Whether it is at a mall or coffee shop, make sure to meet in a place where you can talk while being in eyesight of other people.

That way you can get acquainted in an atmosphere that comfortable and familiar. By meeting for coffee or dinner creates a great opportunity to talk and get to know one another a little better.

Beyond meeting in public, let your hair down and have fun getting acquainted. Christian online dating sites are meant to be a community of believers who share common ground in many important areas in life. Since faith is such an important part of Christian relationships, finding a partner who shares similar beliefs is essential. A good Christian site could be the best resource to find that special person.

Beyond that, looking at Christian dating sites will be different than browsing mainstream ones. Since these sites are geared for believers, the expectations of those in these communities are much different. The most noticeable will be the lack of personal ads from people looking for sex. God only knows how many sites are geared for meeting up for pleasure, and Christian dating sites are the opposite. Not only that, but they are packed with special extras like cute game to use as ice breakers as well as forums containing good and healthy dating advise.

Taking the plunge from traditional dating to online dating may seem scary at first, but after a few visits, users discover how much fun it can be. One great benefit is that people put up information about themselves in categories, often with pictures. Browsing through the ads and using the included search engine will help to focus on the ones that are potential matches easily. So, it is easy to learn a little bit about the person before the first email is sent.

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