Online dating has been dragged into the spotlight recently by the controversy surrounding a 14-year old from Manhattan Beach who briefly went missing after having arranged to meet men from the online dating website OkCupid, a site on which she had created a profile for herself claiming to be 19 years old. 

“Stories like this pop up occasionally because they are rare and because they reflect preexisting fears of both new technology and young people's safety," according to Karen Sternheimer, a child psychology expert. 

Recent studies show that today more than 95 percent of teenagers ages 12-17 are online and almost three quarters of them access the internet from cell phones, where they have easy access to a growing number of dating applications. 

Since Match.com appeared in 1995, the social norms of everything from dating to one night stands have bee rewritten. 

Ten percent of Americans have used an online dating service, while seven percent have used a mobile dating app according to studies. Two thirds of these online daters have gone on a date with someone they met on the site. 

While the 25-34 age demographic has the highest percentage of users at 22 percent, about ten percent of 18-24 year-olds have used online dating services or apps, and those who attended college are twice as likely to use online dating than those who have not. 

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According to a statistical analysis of online dating, on average women reach their peak online desirability at the age of 21.

With an increasing number of apps designed specifically for helping users connect with people around them—like Grindr and Tinder—more college students are turning to the Internet to meet potential hookups and dates. Approximately five percent of all 18-24 year-olds have used mobile dating apps. 

25 percent of users said a major reason they use online dating services is to meet people who want to have fun, rather than using them as a means of establishing a long-term relationship, according to recent studies.  

Tinder, which matches people based on mutual interest, advertises that its app has revolutionized "how people meet. It's like real life, but better.” Tinder's CEO claims that the app helps create up to ten million matches per day.

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OkCupid, the dating website used by Leah Kritzer prior to her disappearance, has more than 30 million active users and uses a question and answer system to determine compatibility with questions ranging from basic, like “Have you smoked a cigarette in the last 6 months,” to bizarre, like “Would you ever eat something out of the trash?” 

However, several users on a Reddit thread dedicated to debating the pros and cons of online dating and sharing experiences have pointed out that the high volume of traffic on online dating sites is becoming a drawback, as it makes it difficult to sort through matches and determine who is actually interested in a relationship. 

Public opinion about online dating is changing as well. According to recent studies, 59 percent of Internet users agree that online dating is a good way to meet people—up 15 percentage points from 2005—and 53 percent believe that online dating helps users find more compatible matches—up six percentage points from 2005. 

Reach staff writer Kaitlyn Mullin here or follow her on twitter here.