As winter approaches and space heaters fail to provide the right amount of warmth, it’s almost instinctive how couples emerge from the woodwork.

Relationships, whether platonic or romantic, can begin in a myriad of ways. One of those many avenues is social media.

“I think that using social media is cool,” Amanda Mack-Thomas, junior English major, said. “I think that any form of spreading love should be accepted. A lot of people tend to be really close-minded and shouldn’t be.”

Apps specifically created for dating, like Tinder, have been created in recent years and are geared towards college students that are looking to meet other singles in their area.

Many opinions surface in regard to the rights and wrongs of using social media websites as tools to spark romantic relationships.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword. You get to meet a lot more people, people that you wouldn’t be generally introduced to,” Michael Telford, sophomore human resources major, said. “Usually you would have to meet someone, get to know them, but with social media it’s at your fingertips. You can hit somebody up on Facebook, look at their pictures, and ‘Facebook stalk’ them to find out more things about them.”

Using social media as a catalyst to pursue romantic interests is viable to some, but as far as disadvantages go, there are plenty to consider.

“When you use social media as an instrument to try and get somebody’s attention, I think it takes away from your social skills and actually knowing how to approach people,” James Thomas, graduate student and public health major, said.

“At the end of the day, when you talk to someone online they’re going to want to talk to you in person eventually. And when they see you as this person on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and then meet you in person and you’re totally different it might shy them away,” Thomas said.

Privacy is often a concern in regard to displaying relationships online.

“A lot of couples put their business out on Twitter and if they’re fighting they’ll let everyone know and it makes a relationship more of a public thing instead of personal,” Lina Fuerte, freshman multimedia communications major, said.

As far as social media and dating goes, it often depends on the person and their willingness to see websites such as Facebook and Twitter as means to develop substantial relationships with others.

Telford said, “As far as using [social media] for dating, for some people it’s helped them meet and become better friends and eventually pursue a relationship. But to actually make a relationship I feel there should be personal interaction first and then social media should be used to help close the gap.”