Lecture 5: online dating

Question 1

9 things we know about online dating

Answer 1

1. online dating isn’t quite what it was once
2. but profiles are still “a promise”
3. online dating isn’t only for dating (hook up, friends, travel, entertaiment)
4. gender can determine platform use (man more hook up/rela, woman more self-validation/entertainment)
5. but personality can be even more determinant (self-esteem: authentic self-presentation, extraversion: more succesful and narcissism: ego-boost)
6. on OD platforms people tell (mostly small) lies
7. and we’re also not great at spotting lies (attractiveness seems to throw of our evaluation of a person’s authenticity) –> warranting theory (un-modified info is more trustworthy)
8. some argue dating apps are changing relationships
9. but they might be affecting society much more broadly

Question 2

Results article Giuanzi et al.

Answer 2

conditions: ethnicity, name and education –> use it like a tinder swipe
H1: Respondents who have a higher education are more likely to select the profile of a user with higher education over the profile of a user with lower education
H2: All respondents are more likely to select the profile of a more attractive user over a profile of a less attractive user

Results:

• names didn’t significantly influence respondents choice, but ethnicity did
• H1: accepted
• H2: accepted
  so: if dutch, you’re more likely to select caucasian-looking profiles but, attractiveness was also an predictor