Online Dating Research Articles

Online daters' reactions to sexually explicit initiation messages

AbstractThis study used expectancy violations theory and uses and gratifications theory to conduct an experiment investigating how the content of relationship initiation messages, recipients' gender, and recipients' motives for using online dating applications shape whether and how the initiation message violates recipients' expectations. Participants (N = 275) were recruited through an emergent adult population at a large Midwestern university and identified primarily as women (66.7%), heterosexual (79%), and white (64.5%). Participants were randomly assigned to imagine matching with someone through online dating who sent either a traditional greeting or sexually explicit content in their initial message. As predicted, receiving a sexually explicit message was more unexpected and perceived more negatively than receiving an ordinary greeting, but the intensity of that negative reaction was moderated by users' motives for using online dating apps and gender. Negative reactions to receiving sexually explicit content were amplified for women and individuals interested in long‐term relationships. Negative reactions were dampened for men and online daters interested in casual sexual relationships. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to expectancy violations theory and research on relationship initiation in online contexts.

Adapting the Tackling Teenage Training Sex Education Program for Autistic Adults in the US: A Pilot Study.

Despite the established need for sexuality and relationship programming for autistic adults, there are extremely limited curricula for this population. This pilot study used an evidence-based sexuality and relationship education program for autistic adolescents (Tackling Teenage Training) as the basis for an adult-focused virtual psychoeducational group. Qualitative feedback, quantitative ratings of the programming, and behavioral surveys from participants were collected. Nine participants completed the program, and corresponding pre and post measures. Highly rated topics, for example gender identity and online dating, were consistent with previous research on what autistic adults want from a sexuality and relationship education program. Future programming should incorporate increased attention to themes and topics highlighted by participants, and should utilize the teaching tools (e.g., role play, peer discussions) identified as useful by the participants.

DISCOURSE ON TABOOS IN ONLINE DATING: SEXUAL EXPRESSIONS OF JAKARTA OKCUPID USERS

The popularity of global dating platforms has affected the dating behavior of urban daters, including those who live in Jakarta. Compared to match-seeking via print media decades ago, there are some changes in the way people present themselves and express their sexuality on dating platforms. On one of the dating platforms, OKCupid, some Jakarta users boldly stated their intention of looking for a hookup or non-heterosexual partner. This creates a problem in Indonesia, where most societies consider sexual acts and expressions such as premarital sex and non-heterosexual relationship as taboos. In this research, we examine the practice of OKCupid use by adult online daters in Jakarta, specifically about how they present themselves to express their diverse sexualities through OKCupid unique features. We argue that OKCupid features help its users to disclose themselves in a more specific manner, and thus facilitate them to find people with a shared interest and preferred gender or sexual orientation. Furthermore, in our informants' self-presentations, we found some strategies they utilized to preserve their privacy, avoid the consequences of normativity that is perpetuated from offline context, or target certain users as their potential matches. These strategies are dependent upon sociocultural dynamics as well as facilities developed by OKCupid.

QUALITATIVE EVIDENCE ON CHILLING EFFECTS—HOW USERS’ IMAGINARIES OF DATAVEILLANCE LEAD TO INHIBITED DIGITAL BEHAVIOR

Our everyday life has become highly digitized, and all our online actions leave digital data traces that are automatically collected, aggregated, and analyzed. Emerging research shows that this dataveillance can lead to chilling effects on mundane and legitimate information and communication behaviors. However, the extent to which a sense of dataveillance deters individuals from freely engaging in legitimate digital behaviors remains empirically understudied. Therefore, we ask: How do internet users imagine dataveillance? And how does this perception lead to people limiting their digital behavior? To address these questions, we conduct qualitative semi-structured interviews with 15 individuals. Our results contribute to a better understanding of people’s imaginaries of dataveillance, as well as sources for these perceptions and reactions towards them in terms of chilled digital behaviors. We show how imagined sources of dataveillance can range from states to corporate actors and how knowledge about dataveillance can originate in news coverage on data scandals or own experiences. Also, we identify further legitimate, mundane behaviors in other life domains like participating in online dating and buying things online that are affected by a sense of dataveillance and have so far been neglected in research on chilling effects. These results contribute to an empirically founded understanding of the nature of a sense of dataveillance and resulting chilling effects on digital behavior. They provide the basis for a representative survey and a mobile experience sampling study as part of a mixed-methods research design investigating chilling effects on a population level.

Dating and Hookup Apps and Websites as Facilitators of Entry into Sex Work

Dating and Hookup Apps and Websites as Facilitators of Entry into Sex Work

Understanding active participation of online dating services: A mixed methods study

Online dating has transformed the way people meet and start relationships. However, online dating platforms typically have many lurkers without active participation. Using a self-regulation framework, this paper aims to study users' active participation in online dating through a mixed methods study. We first conducted qualitative and quantitative investigations with a machine learning method to explore user active participation and its antecedents. We then developed a theoretical model and conducted a statistical analysis of the model. The empirical findings showed that service quality and trust significantly affected individual active participation in a dating site through attachments to the daters and services. The findings of the study contribute to the extant literature by analyzing user participation in online dating from an attachment perspective.

Dating Dilemma: Predicting the barriers to adoption of Online Dating Apps (ODAs) Applying Innovation Resistance Theory

This study intended to identify the barriers that inhibit the adoption of online dating apps (ODAs). It applied innovation resistance theory, with attitude being used as a moderator. A sample of 440 responses from ODAs users was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The three barriers of risk, usage, and tradition have a significant negative influence on the adoption intention of ODAs. Attitude was found to moderate the association between the usage barrier and adoption intention, whereas attitude did not moderate the association between the risk barrier and adoption intention or that between the tradition barrier and adoption intention. Age, gender, income, educational qualification, and household size were used as control variables. The study contributes to the current body of knowledge by identifying the barriers that influence the adoption intention of ODAs. Practical implications for the professionals and firms engaged in ODAs, as well as theoretical contributions, demonstrate the benefits of the study.

The current shapes of cyberviolence in digital relationships

AbstractSocial life has moved toward the digital world in many aspects. As the original inhabitants of virtual life, young people face several adversities while flirting and dating online. The anonymity of the online environment enables aggression without consequences. Cyberviolence has no boundaries as time or place. Thus it may cause psychological distress.Young people frequently use online dating and social networking sites, which makes them vulnerable to cyber dating violence, sextortion, and revenge porn. Cyberdating violence usually targets young women and girls. It is mainly related to stereotypical gender beliefs: presented as controlling behavior and psychological violence. Survivors of cyber dating violence tend to feel anger, hostility, and loneliness. Sextortion is image-based sexual abuse, which includes threats with intimate pictures or videos. Perpetrators of sextortion can be hackers, ex-partners, or admirers. Exposure to sextortion is related to shame, fear, and helplessness. Former partners may use revenge porn to control one’s behavior. It is another kind of image-based sexual abuse. Perpetrators may use nonconsensual pornography to punish or humiliate their ex-partners.Cyber victimization is as traumatic as real-life victimization. That results in depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Moreover, the absence of time and space restrictions can make cyberviolence even more debilitative. I aim to inform European psychiatrists about the current shapes of cyber psychological trauma in the context of online flirting and dating. So that psychiatrists can better understand its content and outcomes, especially while working with young people.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

The Influence of Social Networking on Adolescents' Social Willingness

The development of adolescents has become a hot topic of social concern. With the continuous development and expansion of the Internet, the popularity of social networking has greatly increased. Teenagers have become the main users of online social media applications, but some negativity on the Internet is more likely to have a bad influence on immature teenagers. This research mainly discusses the relationship and mechanism of adolescents' use of social networks, network social efficacy, and network interpersonal relationships. This paper utilized methodology of face-to-face interview, and analyzed under the theoretical frame of Flow Theory. The research draw a conclusion that there were 5 negative effects of the Internet on young people: addicted to online games, addicted to online dating, internet porn addiction, addicted to online information collection, and computer addiction.

Catfishing Phenomenon in the Perspective of Online Dating Services Users

The presence of online dating in the current digital era makes it easy for users to find their desired potential partner. The problem arises when not all online dating services require users to verify identity. Some users easily fake their identities to make them appear more attractive, known as catfishing behaviour. On the one hand, constructing an identity for a specific purpose is common in online dating services. But on the other hand, it can trigger a psychological impact for potential partners whose expectations are not met, and can even open a loophole for crime. This study wants to see the perception of online dating service users towards the catfishing phenomenon. Using the phenomenological method, this descriptive qualitative research was conducted with in-depth interviews with four informants who use online dating services with varying intensity of use and level of experience. As a result, the informants perceive a natural tendency to construct attractive impressions in online dating services. However, identity discrepancies in online dating services are at some point an unacceptable form of dishonesty. The informants also have their own anticipatory steps to avoid the snares of catfishing, from inviting video calls to doing their own profiling on social media.
 Keywords: Catfish, Identity, New Media, Online Dating

Validation of the Polish Problematic Tinder Use Scale and Its Relationship with Safe Sex Behaviors

Online dating is a common phenomenon. The manageability and access of the application allows people to quickly reach many potential partners, which can increase risky sexual behaviors. The Problematic Tinder Use Scale (PTUS) was developed and validated in a Polish population by analyzing the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the responses given by Polish-speaking participants. Two samples of adult Tinder users were recruited online. The first study aimed to perform the reliability coefficient Cronbach's, interrater analysis, exploratory, and confirmatory factor analysis. The second sample was recruited to investigate the factor structure by combining it with the Safe Sex Behavior Questionnaire (SSBQ). The sociodemographic data, such as hours of use and number of dates, were also investigated. The Polish participants' responses to the PTUS (sample 1: N = 271, sample 2: N = 162) revealed the one-factor structure of the tool. The reliability of the measurement was α = 0.80. The construct validity was confirmed. The results showed a significant, negative, and weak correlation between the PTUS and SSBQ scores and their subscales: risky sexual behaviors (r = -0.18), condom use (r = -0.22), and avoidance of body fluids (r = -0.17). Moreover, the number of partners met in the real world had a statistically significant, moderate relationship with the PTUS scores. The PTUS measurement is valid and reliable for the Polish population. The findings highlight the need for harm prevention strategies related to potentially addictive Tinder use, as well as the possible risky sexual behaviors associated with dating app use.

Navigating the Role of LGBTQ+ Identity in Self-Disclosure and Strategies Used for Uncertainty Reduction in Online Dating

ABSTRACT Online dating platforms pose novel challenges for personal privacy, self-disclosure, and uncertainty management. Emerging evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ users may be especially impacted by issues like personal privacy and misrepresentation online. LGBTQ+ identity disclosure is often fraught with pressures related to stigma, fear of accidental disclosure to unintended, undesired audiences, and the possibility of facing harassment and violence. How these identity concerns may manifest in uncertainty reduction strategies in online dating contexts has not yet been examined. To understand this relationship, we replicated and extended precious work examining self-disclosure concerns and uncertainty reduction strategies when online dating with a focus on LGBTQ+ users. Participants were surveyed on the amount of personal information they disclosed, the uncertainty reduction strategies they used, and concerns about disclosure. We found that use of uncertainty reduction strategies was predicted by concerns of personal security, misrepresentation of communication partners, and the possibility of being recognized. We also found that using these strategies predicted the frequency of specific self-disclosure in online dating situations. These findings support the value in continuing to understand the ways in which online information sharing and relationship development are influenced by social identity.

Algorithmic heteronormativity: Powers and pleasures of dating and hook-up apps

We propose the concept of algorithmic heteronormativity to describe the ways in which dating apps’ digital architectures are informed by and perpetuate normative sexual ideologies. Situating our intervention within digital affordance theories and grounding our analysis in walkthroughs of several popular dating apps’ (e.g., Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge) interfaces, promotional materials, and ancillary media, we identify four normative sexual ideologies—gendered desire, hetero and homonormativity, mononormativity, and shame—that manifest in specific features, including gender choice, compatibility surveys, and private chat. This work builds on earlier digital culture theorizing by explicitly articulating the reciprocal and gradational linkages between existing moral codes, digital infrastructures, and individual behaviors, which in the contemporary context work jointly to narrow the horizon of intimate possibility.

Testing the Popular Belief that Men Have Commitment Issues

A sample of 36,592 online daters provided data on Commitment Readiness defined as “an individual’s desire and readiness to commit exclusively to one romantic partner” in relation to Age, Gender, and Parental Status (singles with and without children). Consistent with previous research, the women scored higher on Commitment Readiness than did the men. Furthermore, age and Commitment Readiness showed a strong inverted U-shaped relation, with younger and older respondents scoring lower on Commitment Readiness as compared to individuals aged 31-60 yrs. Interestingly, Commitment Readiness evidenced neither a significant effect of Parental Status nor an interaction of Gender by Parental Status. Besides the theoretical import of these results, our study illustrates the potential power of Internet research and provides a curious counterexample to criticisms of over-reliance on significance levels for correlational data.
 Keywords: commitment readiness, gender differences, invented syndromes, pop psychology

How to Find Mr/Miss Right? The Mechanism of Search Among Online Daters in Shanghai

Although online dating tools have become increasingly diverse over the decades, little is known about the search strategies of individuals or their choices of using certain dating platforms. Based on interviews with 29 heterosexual, highly-educated daters conducted in Shanghai, we examine their strategies for finding a partner online. Online daters can be categorized into three distinct dating types depending on their mating goals and mate preferences: dating, xiangqin (matchmaking), and mixed. We investigated the underlying gendered factors that drove them to specific dating types and guided their choices of online dating platforms. Despite the heterogeneity in dating types, online dating exhibited homophily effects, which may reinforce social inequality in China’s marriage market. While existing research often contrasted online dating with “traditional venues” and used online dating to symbolize modernity, we illustrate the subtlety between xiangqin and dating, thereby challenging the widely-used dichotomy of traditionality and modernity in conceptualizing family-related behaviors.

Internet as a Meeting Place for Spouses: Homogamy, Assortative Mating and Online Dating in Contemporary Italy

This article studies the places where spouses met for the first time in Italy. The focus is on online settings in the most recent marriage cohorts (2000-2009 and 2010-2016). The aim is to investigate trends over time in the use of the Internet as a meeting place and to explore whether Internet dating can affect the rules of assortative mating and homogamy. Information about first marriages is analyzed to focus on highly engaged relationships. A quantitative approach is used and bivariate and multivariate analyses are conducted. The data used for the analyses come from the national representative survey "Family, social subjects and life cycle" carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) in 2016 and made available in 2020. The results allow a preliminary quantification of the phenomenon and document an increase in online dating in Italy (from 0.4 percent of spouses who first met online in the marriage cohort 2000-2009 to 2.5 percent in the cohort 2010-2016). The data support the idea that online contexts show homogamy paths not different from those that characterize offline dating venues. Meeting an online partner doesn’t seem to imply heterogamy.

Understanding the cyber-victimization of young people: A test of routine activities theory

Research on cybervictimization focuses on a variety of behaviors. The present study focuses on four behaviors: hacking, having obscene photos shared, bullying, and stalking/trespass to test the Lifestyles Routine Activities Theory (LRAT). Much of the research on cybervictimization uses LRAT to help explain how some groups of individuals are susceptible to becoming victims. We surveyed young adults, aged 18–25, using a paid Qualtrics sample and a convenience sample from a southern university. Using binominal logistic regression, we test the likelihood of victimization across the various behaviors and with the three main elements of LRAT, motivated offender, suitable target, and absence a capable guardian. We found that online dating was the most likely way to be exposed to a motivated offender, that visiting explicit websites made one a suitable target, and knowing how to set privacy settings helped guard against victimization.

Themed section introduction: Emerging research on racial/ethnic inequality in Canada.

Themed section introduction: Emerging research on racial/ethnic inequality in Canada.

The Enduring Effect of Internet Dating: Meeting Online and the Road to Marriage

This study takes a relational stage approach to understanding the role of online dating in the progression of relationships toward marriage. Fifty interviews were conducted with individuals from across the United States (ages 21–62; Mage = 33.42) who were married or engaged to someone they met via online dating. The results present a comprehensive view of online dating through 4 stages and 13 subcategories of relationship development. Participants described meeting through a process of technology-enabled relationship initiation. Once the relationship escalated offline, they entered a period of multimodal development that demonstrated the enduring influence technology continued to have after meeting in person. Throughout this process, participants stressed the role of online dating platforms in breaking down barriers and reinforcing divisions. Three outcomes for marriage were also uncovered. Findings from this study suggest that online dating is changing more than where couples meet and have theoretical and practical implications.

Students’ Perception of Online Dating: An Exploratory Investigation

Online dating offers significant advantages for single people such as it provides an effective and less expansive choice of approach in choosing a date. However, with so many online dating sites there would be pros and cons in choosing and participating in the site. This present study explores an individual’s opinion about online dating among university students. A qualitative research approach was chosen to explore their perception and opinion on online dating. Respondents are required to answer a question by writing a self-report during a structured interview. Then, they were to answer a standard quiz which retrieved from America PEW Research Centre. Data collected were compared to reassure the validity and reliability of the result. Research founds that majority of respondents hold a neutral point of view on online dating. The implication of this study gives some insight into the view and perception of a university student on the aspect of online dating which might be influenced by their upbringing and culture/norms.