Online Dating Research Update - Hookmeup & La Trobe University

The research is being conducted online in IM with online daters between the ages of 18 and 30. Participants chat with the interviewer about their online dating experiences - what's been good, what's been bad and anything in between. Participants discuss if they think there's anything risky about online dating, how many people they've met through online dating, what have been the outcomes of these meetings and how does it all compare to meeting people in other ways.

Well, some of the interim results are in and we'd like to share them with you.

Professor Pranee Liamputtong says:
It's interesting, when we compare these early project findings to some similar research we did five years ago, you can see a real change in how and why people are using online dating. Five years ago online dating was less common and a lot of people felt some stigma around using it, whereas now it's much more the norm. Many participants are reporting that this is one of the most common ways they and their friends meet people.

So what are people using online dating for? Participants so far have shared a variety of reasons. It seems most people seem to be using online dating to seek out a long term partner. But that's not to say sex doesn't feature. For some people online dating still offers an opportunity to explore their sexuality; such as allowing people to try different sexual behaviours or to explore their sexual orientation. As one participant who uses online dating as with her partner summed up "meet people and maybe have sum fun, make friends".

Online dating also offers a great way for people to widen their networks allowing you to meet people that you wouldn't otherwise and it can all be done when you're comfortable at home. One participant noted that she liked online dating because it "enabling me to meet someone who I shared interests with - without having the hassle of trying to have a conversation in some noisy bar or pub where all of the guys mates are watching his every move".

Of course everyone has some method of screening their potential dates. The most obvious are by looks and personality as they are displayed initially through a profile and then through chat, email and phone calls. But how else are our fellow online daters screening their potential hook ups?

Increasingly people are using an array of online methods to screen their dating prospects. Some people like to look for consistency between what a person writes on their profile and what they type in chat. Some people like to use webcam as it helps them read body language and expressions to assess sincerity and honesty. And now with the rise of social networking sites, a number of online daters will check out their prospective dates MySpace or Facebook pages to see if everything adds up and matches what they already been told and the photos they've already seen.

So does this all sound similar or different to your own online dating experiences?  If you'd like to be part of this project and share your thoughts, experiences and opinions about online dating then just add onlinedating@latrobe.edu.au to your messenger or visit the project webpage to find out more.