Media Studies Extra Credit 1 - Swiped: Hooking up in the Digital Age. The documentary Swiped: Hooking up in the Digital Age demonstrates how the drastic change and worldwide use of media has completely altered hookup culture. Social media was a start to making hookup culture a lot easier and accessible, and cheating in relationships more easy as well. However, the real kicker was the creation of dating apps. Dating apps made hooking up incredibly easier than it used to be, and has had an extreme effect on society in that there are concerns pertaining to psychological health and safety. To start, there are some notable statistics to take note of. Over 40 million Americans use online dating, and adults ages 18-30 spend up to 10 hours on the …show more content…
Now present-day due to these dating apps we have thousands and thousands of potential mates to be with which triggers short term mating psychology. The rise of the agricultural revolution and rise of the internet create an experience of time in which people can engage with each other in romance and sex in ways that are novel. It suggests, as a platform, that it is novel and unprecedented. This would have never been triggered ancestrally, which is why dating apps have become a large concern. Due to social media, normal romantic interactions don’t take place nearly as often as they used to. In the past, humans had the ability to find out a person’s personality and who they truly are, whereas now there is just constant swiping through a dating app which causes things to be based a lot more off physical looks rather than personality. This only adds to how in our present world, so much value is placed on how one looks, and also brings us to how dating apps have had a detrimental effect on society psychologically. Dating apps have been specifically designed to mess with people psychologically so you can play to the advantage of these apps. For example, on tinder every time someone gets a match they get a rush of dopamine and want to
And the heart, even in this commercial age, finds a way”(222)—implying that, although not perfect, online romance can work. He evidences his statement by illustrating how online dating “slows things down” (221), “puts structure back into courtship” (221), and “is at once ruthlessly transactional and strangely tender” (221). For example, he describes how couples might “exchange email for weeks or months” (221) when using a dating site, effectively slowing the dating process and adding more structure to courtship. He displays the transactional and sensitive side of Internet dating when he points to Internet exchanges between couples that “encourage both extreme honesty (the strangers-on-a-train phenomenon) and extreme dishonesty, as people lie about their ages, their jobs, whether they have kids and, most often, whether they are married” (222).
In “A Million First Dates” (The Atlantic, Jan/Feb 2013), Dan Slater argues commiting to a stable relationship is negatively influenced by online dating because of a decline in commitment in couples. Essentially, the more options a person is given to find the perfect person in a short amount of time, the less they are inclined to stay in a relationship. For example, Slater’s case study subject, Jacob, a man with a difficult time meeting women and genuinely falling in love. After easily finding a dream woman on a dating website he found it easier to find someone else once their relationship ended. Hence, online dating made it easier for him (and possibly other users) to change views on a long or lifetime monogamous relationship.
Flirting is a technique used by people in order to attract a certain type of person. As IISuperwomanII (2015) describes, flirting has changed dramatically since the introduction of technology. “E-flirting” is a type of flirting IISuperwomanII says is the most common in the present because of all the applications the internet and social media can have. Physical beauty standards have also changed since the 1940’s. For example, modest clothing and natural beauty were the norms of fashion trends in the 1940’s whereas today fashion is notably less conservative. Women and girls will often wear revealing clothing in order to gain male’s attention and wear makeup that may be considered exotic by 1940’s standards. Researchers have also commented one the changing society. “But first impressions are important - and have become more so as societies become increasingly mobile and urbanised and as contacts with people become more fleeting.” (Berscheid, 1981; cited in Myers, 2013) This is when online dating plays a role. In the past, the thought of picking a life partner through something similar to a television screen would have been absurd. But now, online dating is quickly becoming a norm of dating.
People tend to lose their social skills and interactions because online dating makes it easier to communicate with others. At one point Witt compares meeting people on the app Tinder to meeting people in a bar. “Tinder, she says is just how you would go about things at a bar.” (278). Because people become custom to finding “at the moment” relations they tend to find online dating or pick up dates while drunk easier than going out and just meeting new people the traditional way. In contrast, Carbone and Cahn talks about how couples that link up and get married they usually strive for long lasting relationships unlike the app Tinder. “The app is about the world around you, the people in your immediate vicinity, and the desires of a particular moment” (280). While on Tinder users tend to look for dates for the night. Carbone and Cahn noticed that marriages are set up by roles and beneficial for a family. One example they gave that married couples do is called “gender barging”. These changes fundamentally alter the “gender bargain”, that is the terms on which men and women find it worthwhile to forge lasting relationships.” This quote gives the opposite explanation to how people that meet traditionally strive for longer lasting and family based relationships rather than “at the moment”
This can lead to agoraphobia, the fear of being present in public places. Studies have shown that “ Approximately 1.8 million American adults age 18 and over (about 0.8 percent of people in this age group in a given year) have agoraphobia without panic disorder.” It seems to me that there is a correlation between the increase of online dating websites and this panic disorder. Technology gives us the illusion that we are free, but in reality we are chained to
This article presents the deceptions of online dating through the users profiles through self-presentation, emotions and trustworthiness.
In “The Adultery Arms Race,” an article written by Michelle Cotter, the author argues that modern day technology has made cheating, as well as catching a cheater, easier. Cottle observes many mobile apps and tech tools that aid infidelity, along with devices and software that can keep tabs on people to buffer unfaithfulness. Cottle enhances her argument through her use of real-world examples, adding credibility to her claim. In the end, the author wrote this piece to call attention to the technology that helps but also hurts us, and how it plays into infidelity. Based on the author’s neutral view on their topic, she writes to all sides of a cheating situation, in order to educate them on alternatives that could be useful in whatever goal they hope to achieve.
The uses of these dating sites and apps have greatly inclined. In 2008, only three percent of Americans used an online dating site now that has increased to nine percent (Ambrose and Palm). The whole concept of meeting a potential girlfriend or boyfriend at a public setting is no longer a
Mccarty and Kelly also explain that, “. when behavior violates cultural norms and one’s own expectations, negative evaluations of competence should ensue. in part because the ability to enact socially accepted behaviors is seen as an indication of social competence,” which again clarifies the feelings and actions of the subjects (Mccarty 241). Furthermore, the authors say “Romantic relationships, unlike hookups, involve emotional connection and commitment,” which further proves the app is not responsible for the actions of people because if those persons do not wish to engage in a romantic relationship then whether it is in person or online they will not pursue one.
People in society today can find potential sex partners in a heartbeat. In Nancy Jo Sales’ article “Tinder and the Dawn of the ‘Dating Apocalypse,’” she talks about how powerful the Internet and dating applications can be in helping one find potential partners. Jo Sales argues that dating applications and the Internet are not generally used for dating, but they are used for finding instant sex partners that lead to one-night stands. Short-term relationships are increasing due to the Internet and applications and will continue to increase in the future. Scholars have argued that sexual activity has tremendously increased, moving from traditional dating to a new style of dating called hookups. Also, research indicates numerous examples
This share of people leave an unsolved problem for Tinder - how do you make Tinder an acceptable story to tell? The best bet would be to tap into Tinder’s user growth beyond just online dating. Tinder has great potential, especially in emerging markets, through the diversification of services it provides on its app. By creating features for user differentiation that can include toggles for “casual hook-ups”, “dating”, and “marriage,” Tinder can create niches within its own system to tap into individuals who are turned off by the current reputation of the app. This not only empowers users to curate their online dating experience but also helps Tinder to bring it back to its original intent of connecting
dangers of online dating? Perspectives from online daters. Health, Risk & Society, 14(7-8), 697-714. doi:10.1080/13698575.2012.720964
Dating nowadays has evolved into something similar to a math equation. Technology has changed society and culture so much in the 21st century that something which did not seem normal probably 30 years ago seems mundane now: meeting people via computer. In order to find the most compatible person, suddenly people are not able to find “the one” and need the help of a computer to tell them who their personality matches with, causing many people to not develop proper social skills along with confidence. People have different relationship goals which they wish to achieve, be it through either traditional or online dating. Although traditional and online dating have many similarities, at the same time they are very different when it comes to the
The human need for affiliation creates the challenges and rewards of finding acquaintances, forming close friendships, as well as intimate relationships. Through technological advances cyberspace, or the internet, has become a place of multiple opportunities for people to be able to fulfill that need for affiliation. Websites, chat rooms, and online communities are just some examples of virtual platforms for people to seek others, come together, and find that special someone. These opportunities can result in positive outcomes allowing people to achieve what or whom they were seeking, but they can also result in harm to themselves and others, resulting with damaging consequences. Cyberspace does not come with a warning label. People who use the internet as a means to seek relationships are at risk of being exposed to positive as well as negative results. Being made aware of some of those risks and dangers, and realizing that forming relationships on the internet is not all fun and games, may be ways to help promote a positive future for cyberspace as a place to form successful relationships.
From a report of Dating Safety and Victimization in Traditional and Online Relationship, Koeppel, Smith and Bouffard concluded that with the use of Internet helps increasing online dating and they use it to broaden their social circles and find their partner. People are more willing to accept online dating but their attitude towards online dating is still negative because of the negative impacts (6).