Online Dating

Abstract

Ever since the early days of the Internet, men and women have been logging on to search for love. During this time there was much debate over whether ‘real’ relationships could be formed with ‘strangers’ online or whether instead these relationships were meaningless and potentially psychologically unhealthy. Theories such as the Social Presence and Social Context Cues Theory were developed to predict that online relationships were of little benefit to individuals. This article provides a summary of these early debates, and points out the importance of not drawing a distinction between ‘physical world’ versus ‘virtual world,’ but instead that there are many types of spaces online, with different features with different norms that govern these spaces. The article makes note of some of these spaces and draws distinctions between them. It also highlights the ‘hyperpersonal’ theory first noted by Walther (1996), which contends that under certain conditions individuals form closer relationships online than they would in the physical world. Contemporary examples of online dating examining online dating and social networking sites are examined to relook at early theories and point out how the different features and norms of the space lead to different trajectories when it comes to online dating. Finally, it examines a relatively new crime online, that exploits individuals hope to find ‘true’ love online – known as the romance scam. The theoretical reasons for its success are highlighted here.