Online Dating Biases?

Online Dating

      In lab class, we discussed dating on the internet and various types of technology.  We explored a website called OKCupid.  I had heard of this website before from a friend who had taken this class last semester.  When she told me the website uses math to set people up together, I was intrigued and wanted to see what it was all about, but I never actually took it seriously, I was never one for online dating myself.  However, in lab class we were encouraged to create a fake profile and explore the website with a partner and upload a picture and explore and talk to people on the website.  We received a lot of positive responses right away from people and many people gave out a lot of information at once, such as their real names and where they live, which I was surprised about.

The positives about online dating could be: looking for potential long-term relationships, meeting new people, and exploring options.  However, people can become addicted to online dating simply because they get a thrill of sending and receiving messages with various people.  An article I read on Philly.com stated that people like online dating to see other eligible bachelors/bachelorettes online because “the grass is greener on the other side.”

       I looked up some information on online dating and found an article on the New York Times on online dating and mobile dating apps.  The two mobile dating apps the article focused on are Meld and Luxy, which are not exactly based on originality.  In fact they are similar to dating sites on the web.  Meld is a mobile dating app for Black professionals seeking meaningful long-term relationships and is modeled after the Black People Meet and Black Planet dating sites.  Meld is a unique form of online dating in that it requires users to connect to their LinkenIn and Facebook accounts.  The app uses your Facebook images and your professional title from LinkedIn.  It also has a “hot or not” card interface where people can look at potential matches, much like Tinder in that aspect.  Luxy, also similar to Tinder in the way you acquire matches, is a mobile dating app for wealthy individuals to find people whom they can share their high-end lifestyles with and is modeled after MillionaireMatch.com.  The purpose of these mobile dating apps is to give people with similar characteristics or interests to come together and meet, instead of having to “weed out” those who do not have those similarities.

      The issue with this type of online dating, according to the article I read, is that it could promote biases against certain people or groups.  This is not so much a good thing because some people might feel alienated who might want to try out one of these mobile dating apps.