Difference between revisions of "Online Dating"
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Revision as of 19:52, 12 November 2011
Online dating is the "use of websites that provide a database of potential partners--typically in close geographical proximity--that one can browse and contact, generally for a fee." [1] Popular examples of online dating websites include Match.com, eHarmony.com, okCupid.com, and plentyoffish.com.
The online dating industry is currently experiencing strong growth, making it one of the most profitable Internet businesses. Online dating sites are characterized by detailed user profiles and recommender systems.
Contents
Popular Use
Despite the economic recession, online dating websites have reported increased traffic to their sites that may be due to the unemployed having more time, and online dating as an inexpensive alternative in meeting people for relationships. It has been found that 1 in 5 relationships now start online. []
Relationships formed through online dating sites do not always constitute a romantic one, and if they are, do not always progress solely through virtual processes. It is found that many users choose to arrange a physical encounter rather quickly, than get to know another user exclusively online. Most users met physically in order to get to know each other better, thus delegating the web service as only a tool for facilitating the initial meeting.[4]
The stigma of utilizing online dating services has greatly diminished as a result of the ubiquity of social networking sites, and the convention of sharing information and interacting with others online. Many users of online dating sites have had prior experience with social networking sites.
Niche online dating sites have become popular, some focusing on specific demographics such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and age. With the new addition of sites like ChristianMatch.com or JustHookUp.com, people are able to find people with similar interests and traits. While singles traditionally have attracted people in places they frequent, from at church to at a bar, the invention of these websites have allowed people an easy way to find similar people. People have begun to eliminate people from the dating pool because they do not subscribe to these niche websites. Baby boomers have increasingly turned to online dating with people fifty-five and older visiting American dating sites more than other age blocks. []
Profiles
Users interact with each other through the use of profiles. Users tend to make their profiles more favorable to others, the most common exaggerations in appearance, marital status, and career.
There is a complex interaction when a user builds a profile. Two personalities, the "true self" or the "traits or characteristics individuals possess and would like to but are not usually able to express" and the "actual self" or "traits or characteristics that individuals possess and express in social settings," are utilized. [] Users tend to emphasize the "true self" than the "actual self," because the user can display the favorable qualities of one's self that is not apparent in physical social situations.
The interactions on an online dating site is a "highly reflexive process" in which users must "contend with a perpetual cycle of self-disclosure opportunities," such as revealing personal data and feelings. [] Many users are hesitant about the reality of profiles and the anonymous nature of the Internet, and participate in the cycle of self-disclosure to reduce skepticism in potential partners. The building of trust through the process of sharing information such as feelings, mimics the progression of trust in relationships formed offline. []
The process of writing a profile is a continuous one. Many users tend to rewrite profiles to be more attractive. In certain cases, users would tailor their profile information to attract specific users.
Users of online dating sites tend to be more discriminatory toward other users, emphasizing attractiveness in profile pictures more often online than in offline environments. Because of the supposed belief that there is more choices of potential partners in an online environment, users are more likely to be directed toward attractive profiles. []
Despite many users admitting to deceptive information in their profiles, users were more critical of misleading profiles.
Recommender systems
Many online dating sites offer a recommender system in potential matches based on one's profile information.
Ethical implications
In 2010, Carole Markin sued Match.com, an online dating site, for failing to have background check on its users. On a date arranged through the site, she was sexually assaulted by a registered sex offender, Alan Paul Wurtzel. [2] The court case brought up issues of relationships facilitated through online interactions, specifically about the anonymity and deceitful techniques of users.
Various critics, including modern Luddites, have focused on online dating sites as evidence of the deteriorating morals of human relationships caused by technology. Some arguments include that online dating sites seek to commodify human intimacy, and reduce the sanctity of love to something that can be advertised, bought and found through a search engine. [1]
References
1. Sautter, 2010, p. 555
2. Williams, 2011, Los Angeles Times, "Match.com agrees to screen for sex offenders to settle lawsuit"
3. "The recession: Isn't it romantic?" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/fashion/12dating.html
4. Whitty, 2008, p. 1715
5. Gibbs, 2011, p. 72
6. "Second love at first click" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/fashion/for-those-55-and-over-love-at-first-click.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=general&src=me
