Online dating sites have been recieving plenty of attention these days, Chances are, you have looked into it yourself. We hear that in these sites, especially from Dr. Phil, lie a lot of potential for finding that "special" someone. But what is it that people are actually looking for? What does it take fror someone to initiate conversation? This is what Hitsch, Hortacsu, and Ariely report in their article, "What Makes You Click: An Empirical Analysis of Online Dating." They conducted a three month anaylsis of people searching for hetersexual relationships in San Diego and Boston through a popular internet sating site in 2003. First, they hired college students to assign physical attractiveness to profile pictures. For profiles without pictures, they determined physical attractiveness through profile information like height, weight, etc.They were also able to tally how many times a profile or photo was visited. Here are some interesting findings:
-Attractive men and women are much more selective about who they will date.
-The median man (in terms of attractiveness) can expect to hear back from a median woman with a 40% chance, while the median woman can expect a reply with a 70% chance.
-People with college degrees are 35% more likely to recieve first contact messages.
-Women prefer the same ethnicity much more than men.
-Men have a significant distaste from women poorer than them, women have a significant distaste from men richer than them.
-Women have a strong preference from a man with equivalent education.
-39% of users state that they are looking for a "serious relationship"
Another article, posted in the New York Times titled, "Love in the Time of No Love," shed light on the less commital internet dating websites.
The article gave us some pretty practicl reasons on why people are turning to online dating. People are marrying later these days, leaving less potential for finding their soul mate in highschool or college. And how about the work place? Well, sexual harrasment issues make things too complicated now. More especially, people turn to online dating because of "the comfort of facts." This way, we don't have to ponder like we do in FTF communication about whether a man/woman fits our criteria when it comes to income, politics, etc. The only risk here, is meeting up with that paper perfect someone and seeing that they don't exactly look like the dream guy/lady in the photos- which is what most online daters say they have atleast one anecdote of.
Maybe that's one of the reasons internet dating is becoming more casual. Now, ther are sites for casual sex dates. People are using online dating sites to avoid commitment too. Hey, if there are sites like Match and EHarmony to find your soulmate, then why not a site to hook you up with some lusty fun?
Here are some questions for discussion:
1) Would you ever consider trying out a dating site like Match or EHarmony? From reading the first article, what outlook did it give you on internet dating sites ? Did you find more or less faith in them?
2) The second article is an easy read that takes into the life of a man that does more than just his share of casual internet dating. Based on his testimonial, and the information gathered in article one, what pros and cons do you see in internet dating?
3) What do you think lie in the future for internet dating sites?
4) any other comments?..
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3 comments:
1. I personally wouldn't consider online dating sites; however, reading the article gave me a better idea of what it would be like, and I was surprised by some of the statistics on how many people participate in them. I think that if online dating does eventually become more of a norm, I would consider giving it a try.
2. Pros - internet dating is an easy and accessible chance to meet people. Like the chapter in the textbook said, for some people, CMC relationships are even more valuable than F2F relationships. Cons - Many users lie.
3. I think internet dating sites have a great potential for growth..I mean, it has been steadily growing in the past years. I wouldn't be surprised if online dating became as common as regular dating in the years to come.
in response to question 1:
I would be willing to try online dating, but I think I would e extra catious when doing so. The articles read this week, along with those read last week, indicate that even though there might be people who tell the truth on their profiles, the majority don’t. A lot of people tend to stretch the truth and make themselves appear better looking or more fun than they really are. Nonetheless, I still find it as a suitable way of finding a date. Like the article, ‘Love in the Time of No Time’ points out, marriages and relationships have always been transactional. The internet puts relationships out objectively, so I think it becomes easier to find people you have things in common with or could see yourself spending time with. You can easily see people’s interests and dislikes, which can make you have an idea of whether or not you will be compatible in the long run. I still think that meeting someone and realizing a face-to-face relationship is important.
I have more faith in dating websites now, as the articles point out how successful they have been with many couples. If I ever was to try online dating, I would make sure to look out for signs to determine whether or not someone is telling the truth.
While I see the purpose for online dating sites, especially those that attempt to match you through personality tests and other compatibility formulas, I do not foresee myself using an internet dating site. Part of it is my current situation of being in college (with a girlfriend), and part of it is my personal reluctance to trust people to be as honest on the internet as they would be in person. If a person can't be true to themselves when trying to find somebody to date, when can they be?
That being said, I still think that there is a lot of potential for dating websites. I think if people have a difficult time meeting others in the real world, and they can be honest with themselves and with others online, then there is a strong chance that people will continue to meet and fall in love with other people online.
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