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. / Despite widespread usage and popularity of online dating platforms, general perceptions of online dating remain largely stigmatized. In the current study, perceptions of stigma were explored in the narratives of 110 participants who met their partners online. The resulting themes revealed that: (a) a general stigma about online dating persists; (b) online dating narratives are shared more honestly and completely with a trustworthy audience; (c) intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation markedly influence how online dating narratives are shared; (d) a perceived hierarchy of legitimacy exists amongst platforms; and (e) the benefits of meeting online often outweigh the stigma of online dating. Using narrative therapy as a theoretical framework, clinical suggestions for therapists working with clients who date online were made. Suggestions for competency training in online relationship culture were also made for marriage and family therapy training programs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/86441 |
| Date | 26 June 2017 |
| Creators | Riger, Dana Frances |
| Contributors | Human Development, Piercy, Fred P., Allen, Katherine R., Meszaros, Peggy S., Blieszner, Rosemary |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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