[bali]

I think that has more to do with how publicly one has to use/consume the product. E.g. most people don't like to tell their friends that they have a sexual toy at home, or that they like to binge eat, or watch porn or do something else that is considered shameful once exposed publicly.

However as long as it's not a social product (e.g. porn sites or the axe deo), it's fine, since they do it privately. The problem with online dating is that it exposes one's intentions more publicly.. The embarrassment factor is somewhat declining though - according to Pew Internet's online dating survey it was 21% in the US in 2013 vs. 29% in 2005.

However one has to keep in mind that what Pew measured is agreement with statements such as "Do you agree that online dating is a good way to meet someone". So you might say yes since you have a friend who did it, but you may still not register yourself. The latter has some strong support if you look at how many people use online dating, which is only 11% of the population and something like 40% of singles if I remember correctly. These numbers contradict to the notion that it's ok for the majority to date online, but the tendencies seem to go in that direction [source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/10/21/online-dating-relation...]