Mediaboss Marketing

Credit: BuzzFarmers on Flickr, under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0)

(WOMENSENEWS)--The boom in social networking sites such Crazy Blind Date by OkCupid, Skout, Tinder and Facebook's new Graph Search application may be easing the way for disabled teens to meet friends, flirt and find dates.

Danielle Sheypuk, a clinical psychologist who is also Ms. Wheelchair New York 2012, said she wishes the sites--which many teens are accessing through special applications on their mobile phones-- had been around when she was a teen.

"I would have had more self-esteem in terms of dating earlier and I would have been out there earlier and that would have been better," said Sheypuk, who specializes in problems of dating, relationships and sexuality among the disabled in her work. "When you're not dating you feel really left out."

The difficulties with walking and navigating, Sheypuk said, mean disabled teens are less likely to go on dates. "You are not exposed to opportunities to make those connections as other people are." Going online is easy for people who have a difficult time leaving the house.

Sheypuk said she is also using the Internet in her own private therapy practice by meeting clients over Skype to make it easier for teens and adults with disabilities to attend her therapy sessions.

She said the problem of disabled teens not socializing like "normal" teens is a huge public health concern. "It leads to feelings of loneliness, isolation, anxiety, hopelessness and depression in people. A disabled teen girl wants more than good grades; she wants a first kiss like her friends."

Sheypuk believes online dating sites for teens are a great way to "go in and start mixing," in all aspects, including with "normal" teens. She doesn't favor dating sites specifically for disabled people because it would perpetuate the unhealthy attitude of belong to a separate group.

Link:
For Disabled Teens, Flirting Can Be Easier Online