Being a single woman in a new town, meeting people can be extremely difficult. Add graduate school into that mix, and all I really have time for is class, work, sleep and repeat. So I decided to get into online dating. 

I spent time making a thoughtful profile and looking at people who I felt I could connect with. After a year of being in the online dating game, I have frequented multiple apps and went on a few dates. While I have mixed expectations of what I will get from the experience, I still feel like this was the right choice for me. 

I cannot be the only one who feels this way. According to EHarmony, 40 million Americans and over a quarter of young adults are invested in online dating. That is a lot of dating prospects compared to the total amount of zero dateable guys I have met in the past year. 

However, even with the large amount of people exploring online dating, there is still a great amount of stigma surrounding it. When I tell people about a date I have or about a guy I find interesting, the question I am always asked is where I met this person. 

When I tell my friends that I met them on some dating app, I get this fear that my interest or date will not be taken seriously. Even more, I worry I will be labeled as desperate. 

I am not wrong in that worry, either. Pew Research found that 23 percent of people think  those who online date are desperate. Additionally, Becca Wolinsky of the Huffington Post details a personal experience of incredulous looks and awkward accusations when she discussed her online dating experiences with friends and acquaintances. This is a common side effect of being in the online dating world.

We live in a digital age. We can be connected to others with the swipe of a lock screen. Online dating is just one of many results from being so digitally connected–if we are already spending so much time on our phones, what harm is there in trying to connect with others in a romantic way as well? 

In that sense, I think we need to stop putting so much pressure on finding dating prospects in day-to-day life. EHarmony states that 20 percent of committed relationships began through online dating–that is a significant amount. So we need to stop thinking that meeting people “organically” can be the only appropriate way. In the end, how we meet someone is not important. The connection and how we make each other feel should take precedence. 

So do not be afraid to admit that you swipe right on Tinder a little too much, or stalk the questions and answers on OkCupid more than you care to admit. Some may judge, but I promise it will not be me.