La fréquentation des sites de rencontres est désormais une pratique répandue en France et un objet de débat important. À partir d’une recherche empirique originale qui croise des enquêtes qualitatives et quantitatives, cette thèse propose une sociologie de ces services de rencontres sur Internet. Se plaçant d’abord du côté de la production des sites, elle montre la constitution d’un nouveau marché économique – celui de la rencontre – dont elle dissèque les différentes logiques. Elle explique en particulier la forte standardisation des plateformes, et la diffusion plus récente de sites spécialisés, comme autant de dynamiques propres à un marché en développement. Étudiant les usages au sein de la population hétérosexuelle, elle interroge ensuite les modes d’appropriation – sociaux et sexués – des sites et l’organisation des relations qui en découlent. Ce faisant, l’enquête révèle que, si les sites promeuvent les rencontres amoureuses, ils contribuent en réalité peu à la formation des couples, favorisant davantage une hétérosexualité non conjugale. La discrétion des rencontres en ligne, qui se déroulent en dehors et à l’insu des cercles de sociabilité, contribue à ce fait. Alors que les pratiques numériques sont habituellement associées à une publicisation croissante de la vie intime, les sites de rencontres participent donc d’un mouvement contraire de privatisation de la sociabilité sexuelle. Cette caractéristique des sites autorise une plus grande marge de manœuvre dans l’exercice de la sexualité, et ce en premier lieu pour les femmes, mais ne déroge pas pour autant au double standard de sexe qui structure les relations hétérosexuelles, sur Internet comme ailleurs. / Online dating is a widespread phenomenon in France today as well as an important topic of debate. Based on original empirical research, interweaving qualitative and quantitative methods, this thesis offers a sociological understanding of these sites. By first examining the production of dating sites, the thesis shows how a new economic market has been established – the dating market – whose different logics are then analysed. In particular, the high degree of standardisation of these platforms, as well as the more recent spread of specialised sites, are seen as characteristics of a developing market. Dating site use within the heterosexual population is then examined through an analysis of the different modes of appropriation – social and sexual – of the sites, as well as the structure of resulting relations. In so doing, the investigation reveals that although these sites do foster romantic encounters, they seldom result in couple formation, favouring instead a non-conjugal heterosexuality. The privacy afforded by online dating, external and unbeknownst to one’s social circle, contributes to this. Whilst the use of information technologies is typically associated with increasing public exposure of intimate life, dating sites thus have the opposite effect of rendering sexual sociability more private. This characteristic of the sites allows for a larger degree of freedom in the expression of sexuality, particularly for women; however, it does not circumvent the sexual double standard that structures heterosexual relations, on the Internet as elsewhere.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Major Professor Not Listed / This exploratory research utilized focus groups from college students to learn how and why people are using current mobile dating applications to form and maintain relationships. Additionally, the author asked participants about their perception of a new mobile application that is still in the conceptual stages called Flick. The results revealed seven key themes to the gratifications people receive from mobile dating apps: (Theme 1: Dating Applications as Games and Entertainment; Theme 2: Perceptions of App Functions Vary by Gender; Theme 3: Dating Applications to Embrace Hookup Culture/Casual Sex; Theme 4: Dating Applications as the Lottery Ticket for Love/Relationship Seeking; Theme 5: Dating Applications as Self-Validation; Theme 6: Dating Applications for Social Means; Theme 7: Dating Applications as Trendiness) Lastly, the overall perceptions of Flick were very positive from all sessions. However, when it comes to the dating component of the application, the users were much more uncertain. Due to this finding, the author has decided to take the branding and purpose of Flick to only focus on the business and friend components.

Background: As the expanding digital tools of communications provide new ways for people to interact online, new ways of initiating relationships have emerged from this technological development. From traditional online dating sites to today’s proximity dating applications that enable users to easily interact with other users nearby with the help of geolocation technology. This fast-paced movement allows dating applications to enter the market to assist people with the search for their soulmate. These dating applications such as Tinder allows people to manage their self-presentation as desired to pursue their goals online.    Problem: Previous literature about self-presentation and behaviour online has mainly focused on Facebook as the context. Because of its popularity among emerging adults today, this thesis has chosen to study Tinder as a context. Additionally, previous literature about Tinder has mainly focused on the motives behind using the app. However, the examination of self-presentation focusing solely on young women and how Tinder is utilized to reach one’s goal is not thoroughly researched.     Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of how young heterosexual women in Sweden use self-presentation and utilize digital social platforms to reach their goal. This research examines the context of the online dating application Tinder to study experiences and get insights into how the users utilize the app and different strategies to succeed. To fulfil the purpose of this research, the research team is going to thoroughly analyse the participants’ experiences and opinions to further understand how self-presentation and strategies are implemented in a context as Tinder.     Method: This thesis has followed a qualitative approach where an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) strategy is used. Ten semi-structured interviews have been conducted on young heterosexual women between 18-25 in Sweden utilizing the online dating application Tinder.    Results: The findings suggest that the participants use different strategies and have a varying perception of Tinder depending on how they want other users to perceive them and what their goals are. The discovered strategies are how the participants select pictures, what information they disclose in their profile, and how they interact with male users on the application. The development of the digital environment has impacted how users behave online, and findings suggest that social online platforms do not facilitate the expression of the true self online as previous literature has stated.

Research on associations between online dating and later relationship and sexual satisfaction is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between meeting a romantic partner online or in person and later relationship and sexual satisfaction for heterosexual males and females. Main analysis results suggest that men report higher relationship satisfaction when they met their partner online and women with a preoccupied and dismissing attachment style reported higher sexual satisfaction when they met their partner online. Overall, there were few differences in relationship and sexual satisfaction for heterosexual men and women who met their partner online or in person.

Using data collected from the online dating site Match.com, this paper performs a content analysis examining the relationships between race, gender, and sexuality as both independent variables and as intersections on impression management strategies in online dating. Impression management strategies form a foundational core of how people interact with others in social situations. This analysis focuses on impression management strategies by examining how people advertise their body type in a public arena. Analysis also draws upon the types of bodies these people desire in an ideal date, as a second method of looking at the norms surrounding the ideal body type for a given group. Drawing upon intersectionality theories, this paper looks at potential biases in previous online dating literature towards white heterosexuals. Taking this idea into account, this analysis utilizes 892 profiles from major urban centers within the United States, approximately equal in the numbers of whites and blacks, gay/lesbians and heterosexuals, and men and women, in order to examine underrepresented populations in previous online dating literature. Findings show that body type norms based on intersectional race and gender literature appear to be more accurate predictors of proclaimed body type than only those using gender literatures. In addition, sexuality, race, and gender interactions appear to have an effect in the terminology an online dater uses in describing both themselves and the types of bodies desired in ideal dates. Contrary to prior online dating and gender literature, findings also indicate a greater willingness of women compared to men to use terms that indicate their body might be overweight. Theoretical explanations look at how positions relative to hegemonic power may be an overriding influence in the importance of body type impression management strategies.

<p>Online daters use a variety of messages to initiate relationships, some of which contain sexual content. Research has explored some extreme versions of initiation messages that contain sexual content that are used in online dating. However, there has been a lack of examination into the variation in these types of initiation strategies. The current study explored different types of initiation messages that contain sexual content used in online dating and recipients’ impressions of those messages. The first study utilized focus groups to uncover the different types of initiation messages that contain sexual content that online daters have sent and received, as well as their perceptions of those messages. The second study employed findings from Study 1 to develop and validate the impressions of initiation messages that contain sexual content (IIMCSC) scale and conduct an exploratory correlation analysis on how factors from the IIMCSC scale relate to relational outcomes. The development of a typology of initiation messages that contain sexual content along with the IIMCSC scale to measure recipients’ impressions of those messages are useful in understanding how these messages play a role in the initiation of romantic relationships. The developed tools address the need for more comprehensive understanding and investigation of the variety of sexual content exchanged in online romantic relationship initiation. </p>

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This thesis seeks to explore if and how college students' dating practices have changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Through eight focus group interviews (n=51), participants discussed their dating practices, use of online dating platforms, and navigation of health and safety protocols. A thematic analysis was used to identify and define major themes from the focus groups. Findings revealed four themes in how college students define dating, which were relational investment, exclusivity labels, dating progression, and the role of hookup culture. When addressing how the pandemic has changed the way college students date, six themes were identified: importance of communication, technology as a tool, impact of family, violating safety norms, negative affect expression, and gaining perspective. This thesis extends academic research on how dating is defined and how uncertainty in the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted dating practices of college students at a large U.S. university in the mid-Atlantic region. / MACOM / This thesis explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students dating practices. It uses focus group interviews of undergraduate college students at a large university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Participants discussed their definition of 'dating,' use of technology and dating apps, and navigation of health and safety practices during a dating climate characterized by high uncertainty. Findings revealed four themes in how college students define dating, which were relational investment, exclusivity labels, dating progression, and the role of hookup culture. When addressing how the pandemic has changed the way college students date, six themes were identified: importance of communication, technology as a tool, impact of family, violating safety norms, negative affect expression, and gaining perspective. These findings have implications in how we understand dating, especially during a global health crisis.

Despite increased usage of online dating platforms, perceptions of meeting partners online remain generally stigmatized. When people internalize stigmatized online dating narratives as self-stigma, there are implications for psychological wellbeing and relational health. In the current study, through an open-ended online survey, I explored online dating narratives and perceptions of stigma in the experiences of 110 participants who met their partners online. I used thematic analysis (Braun and Clark, 2006) to identify and illustrate resulting themes, which revealed that (a) a general stigma about meeting partners online persists; (b) individuals are more likely to share that they met their partner online if they perceive their audience to be trustworthy; (c) intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation influence how people share their online dating narratives; (d) a hierarchy of legitimacy exists amongst online dating platforms; and (e) the benefits of meeting online often outweigh the stigma. I used both symbolic interactionist and narrative therapy frameworks to explore the implications of these findings and make suggestions for marriage and family therapists (MFT) working with clients who met their partners online. As well, I proposed competencies in online relationships for MFT education. / Ph. D.

本研究重點欲探討時下人人皆有的心理狀態「寂寞感」、「交友軟體的使用動機」與「自我揭露」行為之間的關係、而「交友軟體品質特性」又如何調節影響「交友軟體使用動機」與「自我揭露」行為。本研究採取網路問卷調查的方式，對於交友App有使用經驗的使用者為主要調查對象，共計307有效問卷進行分析。本研究主要發現如下： 1.本研究的受試者以男性、年齡18-25歲、學歷以大專院校者為最多，感情狀況以未婚族群最多，但是還是有非單身甚至已婚交友用戶；使用交友軟體的時間大多兩年之內，平均下載2.66個交友App軟體，其中最常使用的交友App軟體為Beetalk。受試者平均每週上交友軟體的天數為5.07天，每週花費5.43小時。另外，高達94.1%的受試者曾經在交友App平台上與陌生人進一步用其他通訊軟體、社群媒體互動，並有88.9%的受試者曾約現實碰面。 2.寂寞感程度可顯著的正向預測交友軟體使用動機中的日常社交、社會逃避以及尋愛之三個構面。 3.寂寞感程度可顯著的正向預測自我揭露中的誠實度、數量以及正負向之三個構面。 4.關於交友軟體使用動機(日常社交、社會逃避、尋愛)與自我揭露(誠實度、數量、正負向)之間的關係：交友軟體使用動機中日常社交、社會逃避與尋愛之三個構面皆可顯著預測自我揭露中的誠實度：當日常社交和社會逃避動機越高時，自我揭露中的誠實度越高；但是當尋愛動機越高時，自我揭露中的誠實度越低。交友使用動機中日常社交和尋愛之二個構面皆可顯著預測自我揭露中的數量：當日常社交動機越高時，自我揭露中的數量越高；但當尋愛動機越高時，自我揭露中的數量越低。交友使用動機中日常社交之構面可顯著正向預測自我揭露中的正負向。 5.交友軟體品質特性(使用者介面、安全性、形象聲譽、會員素質、尋愛達成率)對交友軟體使用動機與自我揭露的調節效果中，僅只有尋愛達成率對交友軟體使用動機和自我揭露產生調節效果。 6.交友軟體使用動機中僅有日常社交之構面對於寂寞感程度與自我揭露有中介效果。 / The purpose of this study is to explore how “loneliness” which is widely prevalent throughout the society affects the motives of using online dating applications and the behavior of self-disclosure. Furthermore, how the quality of online dating apps operates in between the motives of using online dating apps and the behavior of self- disclosure. Online survey was conducted and 307 respondents completed the questionnaire. The research results are presented as follow: 1.Most of the respondents in the study are male, aged from 18 to 25, graduated from college and are currently single. Still, there are some of them in a relationship and even married. Subjects mostly have been used the dating apps less than 2 years, and averagely downloaded 2.66 dating apps. Furthermore, the most popular dating apps is Beetalk. Respondents use dating apps 5.07 days a week and 5.43 hours a week in average. Besides, there are 94.1% of the respondents have used other social media or social apps to communicate with other users they met in dating apps and 88.9% of the respondents have actually met up in real life. 2.Different degree of loneliness have statistically significant and positive predictable effect on the motives of using online dating apps including “Daily Social Needs”, “Escape to Virtual World”, and “Romance”. 3.Different degree of loneliness have statistically significant and positive predictable effect on the different aspects of self-disclosure including: Honesty, Quantity, and Positivity. 4.The motives of using online dating apps including “Daily Social Needs”, “Escape to Virtual World”, “Romance” have statistically significant and predictable effect on the honesty of self-disclosure. “Daily Social Needs” and “Romance” of motives have significant and predicable effect on the quantity of self-disclosure. Only “Daily social needs” have statistically significant and predictable effect on the positivity of self-disclosure. 5.Only the quality of “Love Achievement Rate” of online dating apps have operation effects in between the motives of using online dating apps and the behavior of self- disclosure. 6.Only “Daily social needs” of motives of using online dating apps have mediation effects between loneliness and the behavior of self disclosure.