The truth about online dating
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 2:34 pmOnline dating is a popular new method for initiating romantic relationships. However recent research and media reports suggest that it may also be fertile ground for deception.
Studies suggest that deception is indeed frequently observed. Luckily, that the magnitude of the deceptions is usually small. As expected, deceptions differ by gender and can be discussed in light of the Hyperpersonal model and the self-presentational tensions experienced by online dating participants.
In an attempt to collect objective data on deception, economists Guenter Hitsch and Ali Hortaçsu of the University of Chicago and psychologist Dan Ariely of M.I.T. compared the heights and weights of online daters with the same statistics obtained from national census data. They found that online height is exaggerated by an inch or so for both men and women but that women appear to understate their weight more and more as they get older: by five pounds when they are in their 20s, 17 pounds in their 30s and 19 pounds in their 40s.
For men, the major areas of deception are educational level, income, height, age and marital status; at least 13 percent of online male suitors are thought to be married. For women, the major areas of deception are weight, physical appearance and age.
Another major issue is that profile photos are often deceitful and in some cases skilfully Photoshop-ed.
So, what can be done not to get disappointed with online dating? I think a solution to the problem is to go to a website which supports personal videos upload (such as http://www.eudate.me) because videos are harder to forfeit.
Sources:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-truth-about-online-da
Studies suggest that deception is indeed frequently observed. Luckily, that the magnitude of the deceptions is usually small. As expected, deceptions differ by gender and can be discussed in light of the Hyperpersonal model and the self-presentational tensions experienced by online dating participants.
In an attempt to collect objective data on deception, economists Guenter Hitsch and Ali Hortaçsu of the University of Chicago and psychologist Dan Ariely of M.I.T. compared the heights and weights of online daters with the same statistics obtained from national census data. They found that online height is exaggerated by an inch or so for both men and women but that women appear to understate their weight more and more as they get older: by five pounds when they are in their 20s, 17 pounds in their 30s and 19 pounds in their 40s.
For men, the major areas of deception are educational level, income, height, age and marital status; at least 13 percent of online male suitors are thought to be married. For women, the major areas of deception are weight, physical appearance and age.
Another major issue is that profile photos are often deceitful and in some cases skilfully Photoshop-ed.
So, what can be done not to get disappointed with online dating? I think a solution to the problem is to go to a website which supports personal videos upload (such as http://www.eudate.me) because videos are harder to forfeit.
Sources:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-truth-about-online-da
