The Impact of Internet Technologies on the Formation of Romantic Relationships

Annotated Bibliography

Arvidsson, Adam. “Quality singles: Internet dating and the work of fantasy.” New Media Society. (2006): Vol. 8, 671-690.

This article is centered around a case study of the worldwide dating site Match.com. Research showed that Internet dating appears to be a comparatively efficient venue for finding a partner and that it seems that Match.com members in particular, belong disproportionately to the urban, college-educated individuals that make up the upper echelons of the new working class of the information economy. The article argues that internet dating seeks to guide the technologically enhanced communicative and emotional capacities of internet users to work in ways so that this produces economically valuable content. They argue that online dating provides a good illustration of how the information economy actively incorporates communicative action as a form of immaterial labor.

Barrakat, Jo & Henry-Waring, Milsom S. “Getting in on(line): Sociological perspectives on e-dating” Journal of Sociology (2008): Vol. 44,149-165.

In this study, researchers sought to enhance their knowledge of if and how, online technologies mediate and sustain intimate connections and to better understand the nature of intimacy in this global era. They found that while online technologies appear to provide new opportunities for intimate connections that cut across existing social networks, they simultaneously reinforce traditional relationship formation within particular sub-cultural, ethno-religious and sexual identity groups. They also considered whether online dating technologies transform the nature of intimacy and researched whether these technologies are simply a medium for interaction or a fundamental shaper of the way users view intimacy and/or dating norms.

Ellison, Nicole, Heino, Rebecca and Gibbs, Jennifer. “Managing Impressions Online: Self- Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment.” Journal of Computer- Mediated Communication. (2006): 11, 415-441.

This study offers insight into the complicated way in which “honesty” is enacted online. These scholars were interested in self-presentation strategies among online dating participants and how participants manage their online presentation of self in order to find a romantic partner. Their qualitative data suggested that participants attended to small cues online and enacted their desire to present an authentic sense of self by creating a profile that reflected their “ideal self,” and attempting to establish the truth of their identity claims.

Gibbs, Jennifer L, Lai, Chih-Hui and Ellison, Nicole B. “First Comes Love, Then Comes Google: An Investigation of Communication Privacy Management Strategies and Self- Disclosure in Online Dating” International Communication Association Conference. (2009): Chicago, IL.

In this study, researchers investigated the relationship between privacy management behaviors and self-disclosure among online daters. In regards to self-disclosure the individual’s strategies were predicted by online dating concerns such as personal security, misrepresentation and recognition. Online dating participants negotiated competing needs to both reveal and conceal their identities as they strove to preserve their privacy yet provide enough personal data to ensure their profile was noticed by others. They also examine the communication strategies online dating participants use to seek information about others and verify the credibility of this information and how these strategies relate to self-disclosure behavior as individuals manage boundaries between public and private information in the initial stages of relationship formation.

Gracyalny, Monica. “The Co-creation of Identity and Trust in Online Dating: An Analysis of Match.com.” National Communication Association. (2007): 1, 1-20.

This scholarly article addresses how people present themselves to potential romantic partners online and the effects of these virtual representations on user satisfaction. Despite extensive research on the individual's role in constructing an online persona, few studies have examined the important role that online dating services play in this process. The researchers analyzed an online dating website, Match.com, to explain how the Internet dating industry simultaneously supports both identity creation and the development of trust online.

Hardey, Michael. “Mediated Relationships.” Information, Communication and Society. (2004): 7, 207-222.

This paper is about the Internet as a new mode of meeting people and forming relationships. The rapidly growing number of Internet dating resources constitute a domain where people are entering into particular forms of interactions that are characterized by interactional rules that facilitate the building of trust between users. Authenticity and 'emotional communication' is central to the 'pure relationships' of our late modern era. It is therefore appropriate that information and communication technologies are supplementing or replacing traditional routes to potentially romantic encounters that have in the past been mediated by some sort of matchmaker.

Malta, Sue. “Love Actually! Older Adults and their Romantic Internet Relationships.” Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society. (2007): Vol. 5, 84-102.

The findings of this study showed that a significant number of the older adult participants enjoyed flirting online with others and some were also involved in extra-dyadic relationships; indicating that sex and intimacy outside of primary, committed relationships was just as compelling an activity for these older adults as for younger Internet users. These results contradict the popular tradition of equating sex, love and romance solely with youth.

Pauley, Perry M. and Emmers-Sommer, Tara M. “The Impact of Internet Technologies on Primary and Secondary Romantic Relationship Development.” Communication Studies. (2007): 58, 411-427.

These scholars were interested in the impact that changes in Internet-based technologies have on romantic relationships that have been developed exclusively online. In their study, participants who used the Internet to maintain a secondary romantic relationship reported higher levels of relational certainty and greater expectations of future interaction with their online partner than participants involved exclusively in online relationships.

Toohey, Raiza A. “Wired valentines and webs of love: An examination of people’s attitudes and their intentions to use the Net to form romantic relationships.” Diss. Georgia State University, 2007.

This scholarly article focused on college student’s attitudes toward online romantic relationships and their intentions to develop this type of relationship. Borrowing elements from both social cognitive theory and the theory of reasoned action, this study introduced a model that combined perceptions of indirect past experiences, beliefs, attitudes and social norms and associations with people’s intentions to form romantic relationships over the Internet. Researchers hypothesized that both attitudes and social norms would predict people’s intentions to form or develop romantic relationships over the Internet and if individuals did not have direct experience, other sources of indirect experiences with online romantic relationships would relate to people’s beliefs about online relationships and their perceptions of what significant others think.

Tong, Stephanie and Walther, Joseph. “Sorry, You're Just Not My Type: Romantic Rejection in Computer-Mediated Communication.” International Communication Association. (2009): 1-41.

This research examined how certain features of online match-finding systems alter communication in regards to the rejection of dating requests. Rejecting romantic requests present multiple conversational goals and politeness challenges, and this study analyzed the types of linguistic strategies employed in date refusals. They also discuss how online daters take advantage of certain features provided by dating website messaging services which allow new ways for romantic refusals that were not previously available in face-to-face communication or earlier forms of computer-mediated communication.