New Media & Dating
From Baruchnewmedia
New Media allows people all over the globe to connect and have the possibility of finding the love of their life. Thanks to the advances in new technologies that we have experienced in recent years, such as high speed internet connections, lightning fast computers and more and more people using smartphones, people have the ability to unite anytime, anywhere they are at the moment.
Contents |
Social Networking Sites: Definition
We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.
While we use the term “social network site” to describe this phenomenon, the term “social networking sites” also appears in public discourse, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. We chose not to employ the term “networking” for two reasons: emphasis and scope. “Networking” emphasizes relationship initiation, often between strangers. While networking is possible on these sites, it is not the primary practice on many of them, nor is it what differentiates them from other forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC).
What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between “latent ties” (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On many of the large SNSs, participants are not necessarily “networking” or looking to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them “social network sites.”
The online dating arena represents an opportunity to document changing cultural norms surrounding technology-mediated relationship formation and to gain insight into important aspects of online behavior, such as impression formation and self-presentation strategies. Mixed-mode relationships, wherein people first meet online and then move offline, challenge established theories that focus on exclusively online relationships and provide opportunities for new theory development (Walther & Parks, 2002). Although previous research has explored relationship development and self-presentation online (Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002; McLaughlin, Osbourne, & Ellison, 1997; Parks & Floyd, 1996; Roberts & Parks, 1999; Utz, 2000), the online dating forum is qualitatively different from many other online settings due to the anticipation of face-to-face interaction inherent in this context (Gibbs, Ellison, & Heino, 2006) and the fact that social practices are still nascent.
In recent years, the use of online dating or online personals services has evolved from a marginal to a mainstream social practice. In 2003, at least 29 million Americans (two out of five singles) used an online dating service (Gershberg, 2004); in 2004, on average, there were 40 million unique visitors to online dating sites each month in the U.S. (CBC News, 2004). In fact, the online personals category is one of the most lucrative forms of paid content on the web in the United States (Egan, 2003) and the online dating market is expected to reach $642 million in 2008 (Greenspan, 2003). Ubiquitous access to the Internet, the diminished social stigma associated with online dating, and the affordable cost of Internet matchmaking services contribute to the increasingly common perception that online dating is a viable, efficient way to meet dating or long-term relationship partners (St. John, 2002). Mediated matchmaking is certainly not a new phenomenon: Newspaper personal advertisements have existed since the mid-19th century (Schaefer, 2003) and video dating was popular in the 1980s (Woll & Cosby, 1987; Woll & Young, 1989). Although scholars working in a variety of academic disciplines have studied these earlier forms of mediated matchmaking (e.g., Ahuvia & Adelman, 1992; Lynn & Bolig, 1985; Woll, 1986; Woll & Cosby, 1987), current Internet dating services are substantively different from these incarnations due to their larger user base and more sophisticated self-presentation options.
Contemporary theoretical perspectives allow us to advance our understanding of how the age-old process of mate-finding is transformed through online strategies and behaviors. For instance, Social Information Processing (SIP) theory and other frameworks help illuminate computer-mediated communication (CMC), interpersonal communication, and impression management processes. This article focuses on the ways in which CMC interactants manage their online self-presentation and contributes to our knowledge of these processes by examining these issues in the naturalistic context of online dating, using qualitative data gathered from in-depth interviews with online dating participants.
What Makes You Click?
We estimate mate preferences using a novel data set from an online dating service. The data set contains detailed information on user attributes and the decision to contact a potential mate after viewing his or her profile. This decision provides the basis for our preference estimation approach. A potential problem arises if the site users strategically shade their true preferences. We provide a simple test and a bias correction method for strategic behavior. The main findings are (i) There is no evidence for strategic behavior. (ii) Men and women have a strong preference for similarity along many (but not all) attributes. (iii) In particular, the site users display strong same-race preferences. Race preferences do not differ across users with different age, income, or education levels in the case of women, and differ only slightly in the case of men. For men, but not for women, the revealed same-race preferences correspond to the same-race preference stated in the users’ profile. (iv) There are gender differences in mate preferences; in particular, women have a stronger preference than men for income over physical attributes.
Abstract
This study investigates self-presentation strategies among online dating participants, exploring how participants manage their online presentation of self in order to accomplish the goal of finding a romantic partner. Thirty-four individuals active on a large online dating site participated in telephone interviews about their online dating experiences and perceptions. Qualitative data analysis suggests that participants attended to small cues online, mediated the tension between impression management pressures and the desire to present an authentic sense of self through tactics such as creating a profile that reflected their “ideal self,” and attempted to establish the veracity of their identity claims. This study provides empirical support for Social Information Processing theory in a naturalistic context while offering insight into the complicated way in which “honesty” is enacted online.
Online Dating and Mating: The Use of the Internet to Meet Sexual Partners
Australia has experienced a large increase in Internet usage, and online dating is used for seeking romantic and sexual partners. Using a qualitative approach, 15 people who use online dating took part in in-depth, online chat interviews. Nearly all participants used multiple dating sites to seek partners and making use of email, chat and webcam to engage with, assess, validate and qualify their potential sexual partners. They would “filter” the identity of other online daters before taking further actions. They used an array of filters and filtering processes to determine when and how they might progress to face-to-face meetings with these other online daters, and if and how there might be sexual outcomes from these meetings. Participants filtered using the text, photographs, chat, and webcam opportunities available online, and followed progressive personalized steps in communication and engagement in the lead-up to meeting other online daters in person.
History
The largest online dating service as of today was also the first Internet dating service, launched on the World Wide Web in 1995. This website is Match.com, a service with about 96 million registered members as of 2012. However, another online dating service existed before the World Wide Web came about, which was created as a bulletin board system in 1986 for the relatively few people active in computer networking at the time. That service was called Matchmaker, and it originally functioned like a pen pal network based out of Houston, Texas, with no membership fees. Matchmaker had over 60 franchises by 1998, and the dial-up modems could no longer handle the traffic. The owners then moved their online dating service to the Internet. Originally accessed on a telephone modem network with four dial-up lines, the original online dating service, Matchmaker.com, has since grown to a website with about 7 million customers. Match.com, in contrast, was created in 1994 and began in 1995 as the first actual Internet dating service.
As of 2012, Match.com still stands as the largest dating website in the US. The dating scene has changed drastically over the years as more and more people have become open to online dating. This has changed the world of dating itself. People not only date people online, but most maintain an online presence and get to know people they meet on online dating websites through social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or other such websites. People have become wiser with the dating scene, thanks to New Media.
Read more: History of Online Dating | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_4857165_history-online-dating.html#ixzz16pPCYtFG
Top Online Dating Sites of 2012
Members: Over 96 million registered members
How does it work: Members can search for other users through a custom search by age, location, keywords, etc.
Match.com was started by Gary Kremen in 1993. It was launched in 1995 and owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp. It is one of the most popular online dating websites. It has more than 20 million users in 25 countries around the world. The headquarters are located on Dallas, TX. The company has more than 340 employees. Match.com gets revenues by charging membership fees and placing advertisements. They have a mission statement to "help singles find the kind of relationship they're looking for." How they do this is by making the website more personalized by involving many boxes and areas where singles can just express themselves. However, with many online sites nowadays people worry about confidentiality and what Match.com does to help protect privacy and integrity is allowing communication through a anonymous email network and keeping everything private until they can ensure that a member want to personally share their information. They also ensure that all photos that appear are screened to make sure its appropriate before it's able to be viewed on the site.
Members: Over 50 million registered members
How does it work: Zoosk incorporates the use of the member's social networks and friends to find a compatible match.
Zoosk was created by Alex Mehr and Shayan Zadeh in 2007. The headquarters are located in San Francisco, CA. Currently, the company has 102 employees, but plans to have 160 by the end of the year. Zoosk has seven applications which can be used on devices such as iPhones and Androids. The website can be used in 60 countries worldwide, and uses 25 languages.
Members: Over 37 million registered members
How does it work: Users are matched using eHarmony's own personality test - more geared towards individuals who are looking for serious relationships.
eHarmony is an online dating website founded by a psychologist in the late 1990s. Dr. Neil Clark Warren had more than 35 years of work experience as a clinical psychologist and marriage counselor. Dr. Warren, with the help of Dr. Galen Buckwalter, then a research professor at the University of Southern California, sought to identify the characteristics between spouses that were consistently associated with the most successful relationships. After three years of research and development, they successfully identified the key dimensions of personality that predicted compatibility and the potential for long-term relationship success. The website was launched in 2000 and has received many positive feedbacks. Members have to answer sets of questionnaires to be matched with other members. eHarmony headquarters are based in Santa Monica, CA.
Members: Over 13.5 million registered members
How does it work: Users are matching by using chemistry's designed personality test.
Chemistry is a premium option from Match.com. The difference between the two is that while Match.com enables users to search for other users, chemistry.com actually provides users with their own specially designed personality test. After taking this test, users will be sent profiles of people who they believe have "chemistry" with.
Other Popular Dating Sites
Besides the most popular online dating websites without any particular focus, there are numerous dating websites that cater to a particular demographic group or to people with specific preferences. These preferences may be based on religious beliefs or sexual orientation, among other criteria. There are online dating websites that help match people of the same religious faith, those who are looking for dates of the same sex or those who are looking for sexual partners for a quick hook-up rather than a long-term relationship.
Religion Based Online Dating Sites:
ChristianMingle.com is one of the largest websites for single people of the Christian faith to find other devout Christians to date.
JDate is one of the most popular dating websites aimed at people of the Jewish religion. Joe Shapira founded the website in 1997. Shapira is the king of matchmaking. There is no exact number of matches made that led to marriage available. However, according to the Jewish Journal, in the year 2008 alone, there were more than 21,000 marriages reported. The website is used worldwide in countries such as the United States, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom. The purpose of this website is to meet people from the same religion and continue their traditions. People know going in that they are only going to meet Jewish people, so for those who want to continue their religion and traditions, this is the perfect online dating website.
Free Online Dating Sites:
Members: Over 23 million registered members
PlentyofFish is the most popular dating website that is primarily free of charge. The site was founded in 2003 by Markus Frind. The company's headquarters are based in Vancouver, Canada. The company has only 8 customer service staff members and relies on volunteers to monitor their forums and sort through newly uploaded photos. Despite this fact, the company's revenues in 2008 were estimated at $10 million. The site has been recognized in many music videos, such as Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and Ke$ha's "We R Who We R." PlentyofFish offers a premium paid membership which allows tracking messages sent to other members to determine their status.
Members: Over 3.5 million active members
OkCupid is another very popular free online dating website. It features member-created quizzes and has many ways of communications, including blogs, chat forums, instant messages, emails, and winks. The site was launched on March 05, 2004 and is now owned by InterActiveCorp. Members can upgrade to a paid membership in order to receive some additional features such as removal of ads, ability to browse profiles anonymously, special match search options and almost unlimited storage of messages.
Meetup.com
Meetup.com is an online social networking site that creates meetup groups for people to meet offline. Users can create meetup groups depending on the interests such as pets, health, fitness, food, etc. There are many "meet local singles" or "20's professionals" groups. Meetup.com works by users submitting their zip codes, cities, or regional locations, then through planning and interest users of the site will "meetup" at a pre-determined" location. This can range anywhere from for-profit, non-profit, social, education, dating, and career events.
Dating Software Sites
Here are some examples of online dating software sites:
Cultural Change
Due to the increased amount of time that people spend online, there has been a cultural shift towards finding a significant other online. Online dating has soared in popularity over the years due to its ease of access and ability to view and access a larger amount of candidates in a shorter amount of time without having to make a physical commitment to meeting the person. The software on most of the websites screen down candidates, making it easier for the people who are looking to date. Through the process of elimination only a few candidates are left and one can set a date/time/place for a meeting time throughout the website.
Nowadays our society is heading towards new innovation and with many people working including men and women, it has become harder to have the time let alone a network where you can just meet new people. Instead of going on several dates and figuring out a match that is worth considering a second date, it is better we let someone else match and find a compatible match.
Dating sites have also sprung up the idea for wedding sites. In some cultures there are websites where oneself, family or friends put an online profile for a suitable bride/ groom and look for a compatible match. These websites have been highly successful. One example of such a website is this website: Shaddi
Future
Online dating has now reached a new target market. There is one particular website that has fused the concept of Facebook with that of online dating. Long gone are the days that Facebook was strictly for students enrolled in a college institution but Date My School has now brought that exclusiveness back with a little twist. 28 year old, Columbia University Business Student, James Meyer, is the founder of this online matchmaking service. Date My School originally was only available to Columbia University and NYU students, for which $500,000 was provided initially to the founder to start up to service. According to Hannah Miet of the New York Times article about this new service, "Serendipity Is No Algorithm on College Dating Site," over 1300 students began using the newly created service within the first week. Currently, there are over 100,000 users. The site is now open to 600 universities across the nation, such as Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Boston University, Tufts, FIT, NYU and Baruch College. This revolutionary approach to online dating will open up a great platform for collegiate students to now be able to find a partner that can heavily relate to his/her lifestyle. According to the creator and founder, what attracts most students to this service is the fact that every students profile is visible to everyone except those in his/her own academic program/major. College students tend to know more people in their program or their major, so the option of not allowing them to view other users profiles in their program allows some sort of anonymity to be held within. One user from Columbia University has even described the service as, "So far, everyone I have met through Date My School has been an impressive individual, even if they weren’t dateable for me.” With the launch of this site, look out for a slew of other dating sites to expand their market to target the college level students.
Follow their twitter for more information :http://twitter.com/#!/datemyschool
Potential Issues
Online dating does share some of the issues with real dating. You never really know someone until you are able to spend an extended amount of time with them. Many sites have developed screening processes and surveys in an effort to get as much match-worthy and truthful information from the applicants as possible. However, many people use social media websites such as Facebook to meet people. These websites are not matchmaking websites, therefore they do not screen the people that join, which makes it harder to trust the person on the other side of the screen.
A Googobits article by Laurie on June 28, 2005 gives further details... Just as you can make yourself look as good as possible, others can do the same. While chatting online, it is next to impossible to get an accurate idea of what a person is like. The people you talk to may even be lying about themselves, and the pictures they post could actually be of someone else. Until you meet someone in person, you do not really know much about them. Even if you are not actually lied to, it is still easy to imagine that someone is perfect based on their carefully prepared online postings, but then be disappointed when you meet the real person.
Some lies and misrepresentations may be more dangerous in nature. Con artists, thieves, and even sexual predators can pose as nice, average people online in order to meet new victims. Because the people they chat to might develop a false sense of trust and security, they can be especially vulnerable. To avoid these dangers, online daters should remember that the people they are chatting to are strangers. While dating online, you should never give out personal information, such as phone numbers, addresses, and schedules. You should avoid anyone who comes off as creepy or pushy - trust your instinct. If you want to meet in person, pick a neutral, public location.
Regardless what they say you never know what you are going to get. Only about 10 percent of people who join dating sites actually get replies. This being because 90 percent don't post a picture. Without a picture, people have to base whether or not they would want to go on a date with a person solely on the information that person provided, making it hard for them to actually meet since they do not know what the other person might look like.
Another major criticism that has been levied against online dating websites that employ algorithms to come up with matches for their members. Algorithms using mathematical formulas do not necessarily have the ability to predict whether a lasting relationship can be built and maintained between two individuals. These methods do not take into account other factors that play a major role in determining compatibility between two dating partners. The information and data that online dating websites collect from their members neglect a lot of important things that apply to long-lasting relationships and thus account for only a small portion of factors that determine the success of a relationship. Some studies of married couples even show that similarities in personality accounted for only as little as 0.5% of the success of the marriage, while the remainder were determined by other criteria.
There have been a number of complaints by new members who have signed up and paid membership fees for online dating sites. Despite sites such as Match.com having a very high number of registered users (as many as 96 million), only about 1.4 million of Match.com's members actually actively use the site on a regular basis. Some have claimed that these websites engage in false advertising by enticing users to sign up by showing them sample profile pictures of the website's members, many of whom in reality are not active members and may have stopped looking for dates long ago because they are no longer single. Several lawsuits were filed against Match.com alleging that the website mislead customers by providing matches who were not paying customers or secretly hiring people as "date bait" to keep sending emails to customers to keep them interested and paying membership fees.
Works cited
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