Final Research Report

Running head: DATING EXPERIENCES 1
Dating Experiences Amongst Online Dating Users and Non-Users in College
Stephanie B. Smith
Reinhardt University
Author Note
Stephanie B. Smith, Department of Psychology, Reinhardt University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Stephanie B. Smith at the
Department of Psychology, Reinhardt University, Waleska, GA 30183.
Email: smith116262@students.reinhardt.edu

DATING EXPERIENCES 2
Introduction
In recent years, the practice of developing an intimate relationship with another person
over the Internet was virtually unheard of in our society. This is because the Internet was used
primarily for practical and business purposes, not interpersonal purposes. Today, that could not
be further from the truth. Online dating has become an increasingly popular phenomenon that
people from all walks of life are partaking in. From meeting in online chat rooms to creating
profiles on dating websites and applications, there are some people of the twenty-first century
embracing this phenomenon at full force. Not only does it give people the opportunity to present
themselves to the world as they desire to be perceived, but it also allows space for them to self-
explore and engage in the sorts of behaviors normally avoided in face-to-face situations with a
potential partner. Online dating might have its drawbacks, but they are by no means enough to
make the phenomenon disappear from our social world completely. Online dating is here to stay
and will only continue to grow as time moves forward.
My interest in the phenomenon of online dating stems from my own personal experience
in life. I was able to find what I deem to be true love through OkCupid. Without the aid of this
online dating service, it is unclear to me whether or not I would have even found my partner on
my own in a real-life situation. Thus, I am very thankful that I signed up to become a member of
the OkCupid online community and the way in which I view online dating in general is relatively
positive. I realized that not all of my peers share this same perspective, and was very curious as
to how they felt in comparison.
Thus, the purpose of this qualitative research was to examine the experience of those who
are members of online dating communities such as Tinder and OkCupid, as well as those who
have chosen to opt out of taking part in online dating altogether. For users of online dating, the

main interest was in their reasons behind participating in the online community and the positive
and negative aspects of trying to find love online. For non-users of online dating, the interest was
in discovering why they do not use online dating services and how their experiences pan out in
the real world. Through conducting this research study, I gained an in-depth understanding of the
experiences associated with dating on a more individual level. This understanding includes items
such as whether people can find love through online dating, whether online dating mainly just
feeds into what is termed the “hook-up” culture, how strong the stigma against online dating
remains to be, and so forth.
Review of Literature
A review of literature on online dating is relatively simple to conduct because there is an
abundance of literature available on the topic. Numerous researchers in the field of psychology
have examined online dating and its various aspects, such as its pros and its cons. The following
paragraphs will review the most current literature on online dating. Specifically, these research
studies have developed four underlying themes: (1) goals and preferences of online daters, (2)
the characteristics of online daters, (3) the reality of finding love through online dating, and (4)
the stigma of online dating.
Goals and Preferences of Online Daters
Individuals who utilize online dating have a variety of goals and preferences that affect
their experiences. One examination of these relationship goals is by Menkin, Robles, Wiley, and
Gonzaga (2015). Through using a sample of over 5,000 eHarmony.com users between the ages
of 20-95 years old, they were able to examine gender and age differences across the lifespan in
terms of the absolute and relative importance of sexual attraction and companionship (Menkin et
al., 2015). They discovered that users overall valued communication and characteristics such as

personality and kindness more than sexual attraction. Contrary to their hypothesis, Menkin et al.
found little evidence that showed there was a difference between how much young and old users
valued sexual attraction over companionship. In their gender analyses, the researchers found that
younger women placed greater emphasis on companionship than men, and that men consistently
valued sexual attraction more than women across the lifespan. It was also found that older adults
pursuing a new relationship found sexual attraction to be less important and not a function of
relationship duration due to their later stage in life.
Research by Alterovitz and Mendelsohn (2011) examined online partner preferences across
the lifespan as well, through the analysis of 600 Internet personal ads from individuals between
the ages of 20 and 75+. They found that their evolutionary predictions about partner preferences
held true for men throughout the lifespan (Alterovitz & Mendelsohn, 2011). At every age, men
sought out physical attractiveness and offered more status-related information to the women that
they encountered. As they grew older, men desired women who were far younger than they were
themselves. For the women, the evolutionary predictions the researchers held were not always
true later on in life. Women at every age level sought status related information more than men
did, as was predicted. However, they found that across the lifespan, women did not offer more
physical attractiveness than men. Their expectations that women would look for older men held
true until they reached the age 75+, when they sought a younger man. Also consistent with the
evolutionary standpoint was the fact that women remained the choosers at all ages. Overall, this
study identified particular online mating behaviors that continue across the life span, even when
reproduction and protection of offspring are no longer a concern (Alterovitz & Mendelsohn,
2011).

In terms of race and ethnicity, Mendelsohn and colleagues (2014) examined the dating
preferences of and the communication between Blacks and Whites online. They validated their
predictions that Whites more than Blacks, women more than men, and older more than younger
users would show a preference for dating partners of their own race (Mendelsohn, Taylor, Fiore,
& Cheshire, 2014). Overall, it was discovered that Blacks, especially Black males, were more
open to the idea of cross-race dating than Whites. In fact, over 80% of the contacts initiated by
the White online dating users were to other Whites, with only 3% being initiated with Blacks.
This finding was accurate, even for those who stated on their dating profiles that they had no
racial or ethnic preferences. Black users were ten times more likely to contact Whites than the
Whites were to contact them. Actual reciprocations to messages had similar trends, which were
simply just more moderate. These findings give little encouragement that we as a society can
overcome centuries of racism through the means of online dating.
The research conducted by Stevens and Morris (2007) served to analyze the goal of
college students who utilized online dating services. The students’ primary reason for using the
Internet was to establish and maintain romantic and platonic relationships with other people. It
was disconfirmed that individuals higher in social anxiety symptoms used the Internet more than
those low in social anxiety to maintain relationships. It was also demonstrated that certain online
media were more likely to be used as a buffer by those with social and dating anxiety symptoms,
especially the use of web cameras (Stevens & Morris, 2007). Women and minorities were the
ones more likely to report symptoms of dating anxiety. The researchers posit that this may be
because women face an increased pressure to be in a relationship and the fact that there was a
limited amount of diversity in the sample studied.

The Characteristics of Online Daters
There are a number of personal characteristics that are unique to individuals who involve
themselves in online dating. A study by Kim, Kwon, and Lee (2009) explored three consumer
psychological characteristics that may offer an explanation for the use of Internet dating services:
self-esteem, involvement in romantic relationships, and sociability (Kim et al., 2009). Findings
showed that sociable people were more likely to use Internet dating services than those who were
less sociable. Among highly sociable people, those with high self-esteem were more likely to use
dating services when they viewed romantic relationships to be important, relative to those with
low self-esteem. However, when romantic relationships were considered less important, those
with low self-esteem used the services more frequently. This research has potential advantages
for the marketers of Internet dating services, as it can show them a better way to attract users and
create tools for those users.
Other research done by Valkenburg and Peter (2007) assessed single Dutch individuals
and their tendencies in online dating communities. According to these researchers, online dating
seems to be an activity that is common particularly among users who are low in dating anxiety.
This is because these individuals are using the Internet as just another venue to find a partner for
themselves (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). This disconfirms the hypothesis that people only make
use of online dating services to compensate for the deficits they encounter in the real world. In
fact, the patterns in the online world greatly resemble those in the offline world. For instance, the
people that are extraverted have an easier time making friends online than the introverted and the
nonlonely use the Internet to communicate more than the lonely. This realization, among many
of the others found throughout this study, challenge previous theories about the antecedents of
social interaction online (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007).

The Reality of Finding Love Through Online Dating
Previous studies which compared the differences between the outcomes of relationships
that started online versus traditional offline often times looked at marital relationships. The study
by Paul (2014), however, went a step further and examined non-marital relationship as well. His
results suggest that couples who met their partners online were more likely to be in dating and
romantic relationships than marital relationships, in comparison to couples who met offline. The
breakup rates for both marital and non-marital romantic relationships were found to be higher for
online couples than offline couples (Paul, 2014). In addition to the meeting venue, relationship
quality and duration were discovered to be significant predictors of whether couples would stay
together or break up. This leads to the conclusion that online communities are better than offline
venues only if the individual is looking for a romantic relationship and not necessarily marriage.
Moreover, research conducted by Houran and Lange (2004) investigated whether people had
realistic expectations of finding their soulmate online or if they were unrealistically optimistic.
Participants had conservative estimates in terms of the frequency of compatibility levels of their
matches, and there were no significant effects of behavioral intentions on their estimates (Houran
& Lange, 2004). This suggests that individuals who intend to use online dating are not motivated
through positive distortions or unrealistic optimism. Thus, the possibility of actually finding the
love of their life online becomes all the more real.
The Stigma of Online Dating
In a study by Cali and colleagues (2013), the stigma associated with online relationship
initiation and how it relates to women’s self-protective behavior was examined. Participants in
this study read two scenarios depicting a hypothetical date. The first scenario had a date that was
previously known through an online social networking site, while the second scenario involved a

date that was previously known through face-to-face contact. The participants then rated how
important they believed it would be to engage in protective behavior if they themselves were in
each of the scenarios. It was found that greater importance was assigned to the online meeting
scenario than the face-to-face scenario, especially for females who had never been on a date with
someone they met via the Internet (Cali, Coleman, & Campbell, 2013). Similarly, the findings
gathered from a study done by Anderson (2005) suggest that those who do not utilize the Internet
as much or have an affinity for it view online romantic relationships more negatively. Both these
studies provide scientific evidence that the stigma against online dating is still very much alive in
our culture (Anderson, 2005).
After analyzing the aforementioned research, I realized that there was still a considerable
gap in the literature regarding online dating. Research in this area has done little to examine the
experiences associated with online dating on a more individual level. It does not provide enough
detail on the experiences of those who opt out of using online dating and why they choose to do
so. Lastly, the research tends to analyze profiles from online services that are not up to date with
online dating communities currently being used. Thus, the main focus of the present study was to
use in-depth interviews and content analysis as a way to expand the scientific knowledge that has
already been gained.
Methods
First Methodology
For the first research methodology, I decided to use in-depth interviews as a way to
examine the phenomena of online dating. I conducted all of these interviews on the Reinhardt
University campus located in Waleska, Georgia. The group I studied was ten college students
who currently attend Reinhardt University. These students were of different races (Caucasian,

African-American, and Hispanic), both male and female, and of various sexual orientations and
academic standings. There was a combination of five online dating users and five non-users of
online dating. I am a college student at Reinhardt myself, so gaining entrance into this academic
setting and access to its students was fairly simple. I just had to obtain their informed consent for
participation in this study. I used the role of an overt researcher for this study. This means that
the students knew I was a researcher conducting interviews, that they were the interviewees, and
the full intentions of this project. The data was recorded by tape-recording each of the interviews
and taking brief notes on the responses that each individual provided me with. These notes were
taken on the interview question sheet for each participant interviewed.
Each of the college students were interviewed on their dating experiences, whether they
were traditional or online. I selected college students since they were a sample within my reach
and whose viewpoints I was the most interested in gaining knowledge about since I am a college
student as well. I separated them into the groups of online dating users and non-users because I
wanted to be able to compare and contrast the two viewpoints in my analysis. Since the sample
was well within reach and I was already familiar with many of the participants, I was using the
convenience sampling method. To gain more information, I used the snowball method. I asked
the interviewees that I already knew to direct me to other individuals who either did or did not
use online dating. To analyze all of the data collected, I listened to the tape-recorded interviews
numerous times and consulted the notes that I took during each of the interviews. This allowed
me to establish the various themes that appeared within the interview responses. I was able to
analyze each of these themes separately and then make an overall conclusion about the data.
There are several reasons why I believe these procedures and strategies were best suited
for my research study. For example, my choosing of college students over the faculty and staff of

Reinhardt University means that my interviewees were more equipped to answer my interview
questions. This is because it is mainly younger people who are using online dating nowadays, in
comparison to older individuals. The fact I used a diverse sample also led me to a better answer
to my research problem. Taking notes on the responses that the interviewees gave me allowed
me to keep track of key information and jog my memory later on when it was time to analyze my
data. Tape-recording the interviews served to prevent my data from being distorted by my own
biases or faulty memory. Establishing distinct themes made the data far easier to understand not
only for myself, but also for my audience. Perhaps the best strategy of all was the choosing of
my location. By choosing Reinhardt, a location that is very accessible to me, I ensured that my
research could even be successfully conducted in the first place.
In addition to specific procedures and strategies, there are advantages and disadvantages
to using the interviewing method in general. One of the main advantages of using face-to-face
interviews is that the student being interviewed could not provide false information about items
such as their gender, age, or race. This helped reduce the chance the data would be inaccurate
and misleading. Another advantage is that a face-to-face interview allowed me to capture verbal
and non-verbal cues. For instance, I was able to assess the student’s level of comfortability with
the interview questions and the level of enthusiasm for the topics being discussed. This method
also permitted me to maintain control; I was able to keep the interviewee focused and make sure
all of the necessary topics were addressed in the interview. As for disadvantages, the use of an
interview was time consuming for both parties. The length of these interviews was at least forty-
five minutes, so it was important that both the interviewer and the interviewee set aside enough
time for the interview to be conducted thoroughly. Another disadvantage of the interview method
is that the quality of the data depended on my ability as an interviewer. The data might lack in

quality simply because I am not highly experienced in conducting interviews. Lastly, the fact that
the interviewees knew that I am a researcher and what I was looking for may have distorted their
responses.
As far as problems and concerns are considered, there are two main kinds I anticipated
would occur. The first problem that could have arisen with this research study is that some of the
students would be uncomfortable answering some of the interview questions. The questions did
address areas of the students’ lives that are fairly personal, so it is understandable that this might
have been an issue. I handled this issue by making sure I establish rapport with my interviewees.
I started out by asking them basic, demographic questions and then moved on to the tougher ones
I had written. If I noticed a student was having a problem answering a certain question or seemed
upset, I gave them time to process what they had been asked and to calm themselves down. I did
not pressure them to answer my interview questions in a way that only benefited me. The second
problem that I had to consider is how difficult it may have been to schedule the interviews with
all ten of my participants. I resolved this issue by figuring which Reinhardt students I was going
to use in advance, and then notifying them and keeping them updated about the project. Another
strategy I took was to ensure that both the interviewee and I had set out enough time on that day
to actually conduct the interview (Berg & Lune, 2012).
Second Methodology
For the second research methodology, I decided to analyze online dating profiles as a
way to further understand the phenomena of online dating. I performed this content analysis on
the OkCupid dating application and website. The group that I studied was fifty people who are
active users in the OkCupid community. These individuals were of various genders, races, and
sexual orientations. Particular attention was paid to online users who are in college so that it

resembled the sample in the first methodology. I gained entry into this research site by creating
my own OkCupid account. By creating this account, I had access to dozens of dating profiles
which belong to individuals in my surrounding area. I once again used the role of the overt
researcher in this methodology. This means it was stated in my OkCupid profile that I was a
researcher looking for potential research subjects. The data was recorded on code sheets that
contain the specific criteria I wanted to analyze for this study.
Each of the participants had the content that they have provided on their dating profile
observed and analyzed. I decided to use people on OkCupid because I was already familiar with
the dating service from previous personal use. It also seemed to be a dating site where people are
more willing to provide a lot of personal information, relative to sites like Tinder. The users were
selected based off of items such as the amount of information on their profile, their age, and their
location being in Georgia. Thus, this was a purposive sample and not every user on OkCupid had
an equal chance of being selected for analyzation. If I was in need of further information that was
not provided on their profile, I simply chose another dating profile to analyze. For the analysis, I
used code sheets to gather specific information from the dating profiles. The ten categories that I
chose to examine were: profile number, gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, reason(s)
for joining, type of person they are, personal interests, searching for in a partner, and images
displayed. I analyzed the words and images that were displayed on their profile to fill in each of
these sections. After analyzing all of the dating profiles, I began drawing my conclusions. This
included dividing the online dating users into several distinct groups, which I created names for
myself.
These procedures and strategies were best suited for my research problem because it gave
me a first-hand account of what people who use online dating services are like. It also provided

me with evidence of how prevalent the phenomenon of online dating is in our culture. I would
also think that analyzing less complex items such as words and images helped me to paint the
best and most coherent understanding of OkCupid and its users. If I had analyzed paragraphs or
even films about online dating, it might have been far more difficult to draw sensible conclusions
about these sorts of people. Furthermore, there are more general advantages and disadvantages of
using this method of content analysis. The main advantage is that I could access all the profiles
whenever I needed to and did not have to rely on other people to collect data. This is due to the
fact that these online dating profiles are made available to the public. One disadvantage is that it
was difficult to determine what information presented on the dating profile was most important
to my study and what did not need to be included. Another disadvantage would be the fact that I
was using a particular group of online daters—only those who use OkCupid, live in Georgia, and
are of the appropriate age. This made the results that I obtained from analysis hard to generalize
to other populations of online daters. Finally, there was always the chance of being ridiculed for
what I was using the dating site for by other users.
The fact that I could have been ridiculed for using my OkCupid profile to collect data is
one of the problems that had to be addressed in this methodology. There were also situations in
which other users either asked me about my research or ignored the purpose I had written out on
my profile and messaged me flirtatiously. In order to handle these types of situations, I ignored
them or politely explained that I was not on OkCupid for dating purposes. If messages persisted,
I would have blocked the individual. The other issue to be considered is how I would thoroughly
analyze and keep track of the dating profiles that I used. To solve this problem, I wrote down the
usernames for all of the profiles that I had selected and printed them off of the computer. All of
the profiles that ended up missing after coding were replaced. I analyzed the profiles carefully

the first time and then reanalyze them to make sure that I did not overlook anything important. I
also kept an open mind to other categories I did not initially include in my code sheet to ensure
that my results were not lacking in depth or biased (Berg & Lune, 2012).
Ethical and Political Considerations
For this proposed research study, the main ethical concerns that may have come up had to
do with confidentiality. In the first methodology, I interviewed college students and asked them
to provide me with private information about their online and traditional dating experiences. The
responses elicited from these interview questions included details that could be damaging to the
interviewee or other individuals that they mentioned, if they were released out into the public.
While conducting an interview did not allow for anonymity, I could promise these students that
their information would be held confidential.
There are several ways I maintained confidentiality for my participants. For instance, I
performed each of the interviews in a secluded area on campus so that no one overheard what the
student was telling me. This meant interviewing someone on the third floor of the library or in an
empty dorm lobby. Another strategy that I used was to remove any information that could help
identify the individual from my research report or presentation. This was done by substituting
each of the students’ real names with an interview number whenever I referred to the portion of
data they contributed to my study.
In the second methodology, I analyzed people’s dating profiles from OkCupid. Since the
profiles are made available in the public domain, I did not need to ask people if I could use their
profiles or not. However, there was still information on their profiles that had to remain private.
To do so, I referred to their profiles on my code sheet by number and not by their actual names.
If I chose to mention a particular profile in my written or oral presentation, I omitted the names

just like in the first methodology. If I had pictured a profile in my final presentation, I would
have blurred out the person’s name as well as any of their photos. This way no one would have
been able to identify exactly who the person was in either research methodology.
Completed Schedule of Events
February
23 Research Proposal Due
25 Interview Exercise
March
1 Interview Exercise
3 Proposal Analysis/ Interview Exercise
7-11 Spring Break: Contact Interviewees/ Schedule Interviews
14-18 Interviews
21-25 Interviews
28- 31 Second Methodology
April
4- 13 Data Analysis/ Research Presentation/ Final Touches
14 Presentation 19- Research Project Due
This is the schedule of events that occurred in order for me to complete this qualitative
research project. During the end of February and the beginning of March, I participated in the
interview exercise and adjusted my interview questions. This time included a proposal analysis
as well. I took out time during the week of my Spring Break to contact all my interviewees and
schedule interviews for the following two weeks. Starting on March 14, I conducted interviews
with my participants. The interviewing process continued through the 25th of March. I allowed
two weeks for my interviews so that participants were more able to assist me. After the second
week of interviewing, I collected and analyzed the online dating profiles for my second research

methodology. After I gathered the data for both of my research methodologies, I began the data
analysis process on the 4th of April. This process continued for several days, until I was ready to
transfer it on to my presentation of the findings for this course. By the 13th, I was applying the
finishing touches to my presentation. Presentations began on April 5, but I did not present until
the 14th. The final research report was done by the 18th of April, seeing as the entire project was
due on April 19. Thus, I was able to complete my entire study by the end of April!
Major Findings
First Methodology
The following paragraphs will report the findings of the first methodology included in
this research study. These findings include information about both the online and traditional
daters whom were studied. They are also divided into these four conceptual subheadings: (1)
reasons for choosing their dating venue (2) dating experiences, (3) finding true love online
versus the “hook-up” culture, and (4) the stigma against online dating.
Reasons for Choosing Their Dating Venue
When asked what made them decide to try online dating, two of the participants stated
that they did so because they had feelings of loneliness and were socially awkward. It was the
best way for them to meet new people and fill their time. The other three said that they joined
because they had not had any previous luck with dating and so, their friends convinced them to
join the online community. Traditional daters, on the other hand, were asked why they decided
not to try online dating, to which one participant described it as “impersonal” (Interview #3).
Others reasoned that “getting to see someone in person is better” or that they are “better with
face-to-face interacting” (Interview #6; Interview #8). One participant’s response which stood
out said that they avoid online dating “because of the hook-up culture shenanigans” (Interview

#7). The final traditional dater interviewed claimed that they did not use the online community as
a dating venue because they never saw the need.
Dating Experiences
For the online daters, the most positive experiences ranged from getting laid to being able
to meet really interesting people and forging long-lasting relationships from online dating. When
speaking about their sexuality, one participant said that the individual they met “really opened up
their eyes to things and made them access a part of them that they always knew was there, but
never really acknowledged or was afraid of” (Interview #2). Overall, the most common negative
experiences involved encounters with creepy older people from online or those being sexual and
trying to send nude pictures. Two experiences that stood out were one where a participant said
they were cheated on and another where they were never contacted again after a movie date. In
terms of comparing online and traditional dating experiences, two said their experiences online
were better. One claimed that the online hook-ups were far easier than traditional ones and the
other said they were more experienced online. Other participants stated that there was more of an
exciting factor when meeting someone traditionally or that their online experiences had just been
an “utter failure” (Interview #9). One online dater’s response was particularly interesting; they
said that someone had shown interest in them through this Mexican tradition of “being asked to
walk around” and that they had “not really dated much traditionally by American standards”
(Interview #4).
When asked about the overall impact that traditional dating had on their love life, the
majority of participants stated that it either had a minimal or huge impact, and there was few in-
between. One participant said that their dating life was minimal because it “takes a lot for them
to put themselves into a relationship” (Interview #3). Those who described dating as having a big

impact either said that it taught them “the right things to do and what not to do” or that it “helped
them grow, personally” (Interview #8; Interview #10).
Finding True Love Online Versus The “Hook-Up” Culture
When interviewing the online daters, some of the words that they used to define true love
included: unconditional, understanding, accepting, open, and trusting. One participant described
it as “waking up to someone and seeing them all groggy and still feeling really lucky…you trust
each other and there’s this feeling of home” (Interview #4). All of the participants said that they
were searching for love, especially moving forward into the future or if they had not ever had the
chance to experience it before. As for relationship goals, four out of five online dating users said
that they did not think online dating would help to achieve them. Some reasons for this included
because the site they were on simply was not working for them or that “the relationships died out
after getting laid” (Interview #1).One specified they are better connecting with people in person,
while another said they needed to work on their real-world skills first. Only one said that it could
help achieve their goals because they can “find people without taking too much time out of their
schedule” (Interview #4). Finally, when asked whether online dating could result in a long-term
relationship or if it was necessary to date traditionally, the most common response among online
daters was that it depends on the person. Three of the five online daters said they were aware of
long-term “success stories” and one participant even said that their “uncle met his second wife
through eHarmony.com” (Interview #1).
I also asked traditional daters about the outcomes of online dating versus traditional
dating. Once again, the overwhelming response was that it depends on the person and how they
handle the situation. One participant said that with online dating, you have to be willing to “take

that leap of faith,” while another said that it had the potential to end in a long-term relationship,
“if you eventually met them first” (Interview #10; Interview #8).
The Stigma Against Online Dating
When asked to describe other people who use online dating services, two said they
believed there was no specific type of person who uses online dating. Others described them as
desperate, creepy, and just there to hook-up. One participant added that there are some people
online who “want an actual relationship, but they are like a needle in a haystack” (Interview #4).
The most common response to what their family’s reactions were to them using online dating
was that they did not know about it. Some feared being judged by their family, while one said
that it just had not come up. Two said that the family who was aware of their usage were initially
concerned, but came to accept the idea in the end. However, one participant said that while their
mother knew about some of her dating app use, she did not know they “have used a same-sex
app because that would freak her out” (Interview #2). When considering reactions from friends,
most interviewees said that the ones who were more okay with it were also using online dating
themselves. One participant described her and her friends as a “bunch of single losers who have
Tinder…real cool individuals” (Interview #9).
Online daters were also asked about how they think our society currently views online
dating. The overall response was that society is now more accepting of online dating, that it is
really popular, and available to society through various sites. One participant said that this was
“especially true for the younger generation and that the older generation was more against it”
(Interview #4). Another online dating participant even claimed that there would be “no more
face-to-face dating in the future since technology is in everything that we do” (Interview #5).

When asked about their perspective of online dating, three out of five traditional daters
said that their opinion has not changed since they first heard about it. One participant said that “it
still feels like a last resort,” while another one said that they still believed it is mainly “hook-up
culture” and just a way for “companies to make new opportunities for themselves” (Interview
#7). Out of the two that stated their opinions did change over time, one traditional dater said that
online dating “used to be ridiculous to her, but now it seems like just another form of dating”
(Interview #3). The other had a similar response, commenting that they “see it as beneficial now
for some people” (Interview #8). While most of the traditional daters did state negative views
about online dating, all of them said they believed online dating was still generally accepted in
current society regardless.
Second Methodology
The following paragraphs will discuss the findings from the second methodology of this
research study. These findings include information about the online dating users from OkCupid
who were analyzed. The users are divided into the following five types of online daters, from
most occurring to least: (1) The “Up For Whatever” and Easygoing, (2) The Adventurous and
Always Smiling, (3) The Quiet and Socially Awkward Nerd, (4) The Social Justice Advocate,
and the (5) Best Friend or “Hook-Up” Seeker. Although these types were overlapping to some
degree, they were conceptually distinctive, and provided the most useful method for organizing
dating profiles into meaningful categories.
The “Up For Whatever” and Easygoing
This is the type of person who is up for doing anything and prefers to go with the flow in
life, instead of constantly worrying about what is next. They do not mind chilling at home and
watching Netflix or going out to town with friends. One individual who was categorized into this

type of online dater said on their profile that they were “pretty easy going…friendly, and will try
anything twice” (Profile #31). Another easygoing type said that a typical Friday night “involves
me, out with friends tearing up the town. And sometimes I am on a Netflix binge” (Profile # 14).
Most of these profiles gave information about what the person was searching for in a partner.
One person in particular said they wanted someone who was “okay with just being home and
relaxing sometimes and going out whenever” (Profile #4). As for the images displayed, one
individual had some pictures of them with their dog, another giving blood, and the other one
skydiving to show off diverse interests.
The Adventurous and Always Smiling
This is the type of person who is constantly active and enjoys spending time outside in
nature. They are typically in a good mood and have a smile on their face, which they hope to
pass on to others. One adventurous type described themselves as the type who is “rarely in a bad
mood, so if you want to get along with me you must not be moody” (Profile #3). When talking
about personal interests, one person said that they “like being outside, especially when it’s nice
and sunny. I snowboard during the winter and during the summer, you will often find me on the
lake” (Profile #24). Many of these profiles included selfies of the individual smiling, traveling,
or having fun outside. They also tended to seek out others who could share in their adventures
with them and keep their positive mood going in the right direction.
The Quiet and Socially Awkward Nerd
This is the type of online dater who describes themselves as the quiet person in the room.
They do not necessarily want to stand out from the crowd and are often nervous and awkward in
social situations. They also usually have stereotypically nerdy interests such as comics, video
games, and anime. One individual in this category described themselves to be “usually a pretty

relaxed person with sprinkles of anxiety here and there…pretty introverted which I myself forget
when I try to go out a lot only to wish I was home” (Profile #46). Another nerdy type said in
their profile that they wanted someone who was “similarly nerdy and not looking for the super
masculine/macho kind of guy” (Profile #23). While there were some images displayed where the
person appeared more confident than they described themselves to be, one awkward type stood
out from the rest. In the caption of an image, they said that it was “an old image since I do not
like taking many, but you get the idea” (Profile #32).
The Social Justice Advocate
This is the kind of person who tends to find meaning in everything, even when it may not
actually be there, and holds strong opinions. They do not appreciate ignorance and those who do
discriminate against ones who do not fit within the norm—whether personality or sexuality-wise.
In their profile, one social justice type described themselves as “a pretentious barista/sassy server
combo meal as well as a sissy soft butch pretty boy femme in nail polish and a bowtie and you
are just going to have to deal with it” (Profile #40). This person also emphasized their anger with
white men, saying they are always in charge of everything. Another individual who fit into this
category and identified themselves as queer stated in their profile that they wanted more queer
friends. They also said they were searching for a partner who could “accept and embrace their
cross dressing. This is very important” (Profile #45). While not all of the people identified as
non-heterosexual, this was a rather common factor among this type of online dater.
The Best Friend or “Hook-Up” Seeker
The final type of online dater identified was the kind of person who claims they are only
online to meet new people and make friends, or find others who are interested in sex or exploring
their sexuality. One individual referred to themselves as “the best friend you could ever have,”

while another said they were a “care-free individual…hoping to meet some awesome people”
since they have a “busy schedule that makes it hard to get to know more people other than the
ones that are around me on a daily basis” (Profile #1; Profile #35). The individual whom stood
out amongst the “hook-up” seekers said that they “would love to meet some people their age
involved in the BDSM/kink community” (Profile #19). Some of these people may have been
searching for sexual interaction, but not all wanted to discuss it immediately. Rather, it was
preferred that they got to know about the person first.
Discussion/Conclusion
The results gathered from this research fit into the extant literature on online dating in
multiple ways. Similar to research conducted by Kim et. al (2009), the participants used online
dating services more frequently when it was considered less important. This was especially true
for online daters low in self-esteem. Most felt no harm in using online services for entertainment
value because they were under the impression that it would not help them reach their relationship
goals anyways. In contrast to research by Valkenburg and Peter (2007), this study shows that the
individuals did not struggle very much with and actually enjoyed establishing relations online,
despite their being introverted or lonely. In fact, being lonely made some utilize online dating
services even more. The online daters seemed more hopeful than research has expressed that
someone can find love through online dating. The only difference is, they did not have much
faith love could be found online for themselves. In terms of stigma, if they started out with a
negative view of online dating, most participants came to view it more positively after they
began using it. The stigma against online dating was stronger from people that they knew
personally or in the general society.

Unlike the results gathered by Valkenburg and Peter (2007), the participants who were
confident in their real-world skills or extraverted did not rely on online dating as another venue
to find a partner for themselves. They were more likely to prefer face-to-face interaction as a
means to accomplish their relationship goals. The traditional daters seemed slightly less hopeful
that true love could be found through online dating. For the most part, it seemed likely to them
only if people put themselves out there and held enough faith. There were, however, a few of the
participants who contradicted this notion by saying they might try online dating in the future. As
for the stigma of online dating, it was much stronger from traditional daters. This relates back to
research by Anderson (2005), which suggests that those without an affinity for the Internet view
online romantic relationships more negatively.
In addition to the interviews, information garnered from the dating profiles related back
to previous literature. The easygoing and adventurous types were the two types of online daters
to show up the most in my research. This correlates with previous research which has shown that
people who are sociable and extraverted rely on online dating as another way to meet new people
(Kim et al., 2009; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). The socially awkward type connects back to other
research done, which shows that online media can be used as a buffer by those with social and
dating anxiety symptoms (Stevens & Morris, 2007). These individuals sought out online dating
services because it was the best way for them to find a potential mate without their anxiety and
nervousness flaring up, and preventing their goals from being achieved. The few profiles under
the “hook-up” seeker type is similar to research which has shown that most people value one’s
ability to communicate and their personality over sexual interests or attraction (Menkin et al.,
2015). If they were interested in having casual sex, it was usually necessary that they initially
connected with the other person.

For the future, this study should be conducted with a much larger and diverse interview
sample. All of the interview data concerning the online daters was based off of female college
students who use online dating. It was rather difficult to find male college students who used
online dating for an interview. One can assume that males probably have a fairly different
perspective of online dating, so this would be very interesting to investigate. Another thing
would be to increase the variety in race and sexual orientation. The sample of college daters
utilized for the interviews were only either Caucasian, African-American, or Hispanic, and the
majority of them identified as heterosexual, with a few exceptions (bisexual, pansexual, and
demisexual). I would like to expand this diversity, so that it not only resembles those found on
OkCupid more closely, but is also more representative of online daters, overall.
Another future direction would be to adjust some of the interview questions. When
listening back to the interviews, it became apparent to me how many times I had to repeat or
explain the question to the interviewee before they knew how to answer. This was surprising
since my questions came off as clear to both me and other classmates. The final change that I
would make is to analyze online dating users from other communities, besides OkCupid. The
dating profiles collected from this site did provide excellent insight, but they are by no means
representative of online daters as a whole. Thus, future studies may include analyzation of the
online daters from Plenty of Fish, Tinder, and other common dating sites.
As a final note, the current study may have important implications that could be assessed
in the future. When interviewing daters, some of them warned against creepy individuals online
or putting too much personal information on a profile. This suggests it may be helpful to inform
others who do not currently use online dating about potential dangers and how to remain safe on
the Internet. Overall, this study has far more potential than to just exist as pure research!

Final Research Report

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (19)

Destaque

Destaque (11)

Semelhante a Final Research Report

Semelhante a Final Research Report (20)

Final Research Report