I. Introduction
The current paper focuses on the impact that online dating has on self-esteem. First, I will describe the relevant literature regarding how self-esteem manifests within relationships in general. Then, I will discuss the relevant research and analysis on online dating from the perspective of psychological science. I will then discuss, conceptually, how self-esteem can be influenced by engagement in Internet dating services. Finally, I will describe a testable hypothesis, along with methods and research techniques that could be used to study self-esteem as it relates to online dating.
Self-esteem can be defined as one’s positive or negative attitude toward himself or herself (CITE). It acts as a motivational force, and people …show more content…
Online dating has rapidly become a pervasive means of seeking potential partners and has altered both the romantic acquaintance process and the compatibility matching process. Rather than meeting potential partners organically, online dating involves learning a broad range of facts about prospective partners before deciding whether one wants to pursue the individual. This gives users the opportunity to rely on mathematical matching algorithms to determine their romantic fate. Scholars have examined the personality characteristics of people who date online and people who do not, discovering that the two groups tend to be much more similar than different. They are approximately equal in terms of self-esteem and the Big Five personality dimensions (Finkel et al., 2012). However, due to the nature of self-promotion on the Internet dating services, the use of these services among those who place great importance on romantic relationships may depend on an individual’s level of self-esteem. Similar to the advertising of consumer products, Internet dating service users promote themselves by emphasizing their positive qualities such as appearance, social status, and wealth, so as to spark the intrigue of other users. Though this feature can be perceived …show more content…
Hypothesis I hypothesize that how one’s self-esteem is affected by online dating is highly dependent on their baseline self-esteem (self-esteem before using an Internet dating service), the amount of personal information they disclose on their profile, and their willingness to reach out to other users. Those with an elevated self-esteem are more likely to engage in self-disclosure which has been suggested to create a more intimate relationship. In the context of dating via the Internet, when people meet online they tend to reveal much more about themselves immediately in the first few correspondences.
found that those who better expressed their “true self” (their inner feelings) were more likely to have formed close online relationships. Linking “true self” and self-disclosure, McKenna et al. observed that self-disclosure lead to an increase in intimacy and that only after liking and trust were established could an online relationship be formed. McKenna et al. predicted that with more self-disclosure online relationships would develop faster and be more stable than offline relationships. In their field study, in fact, they found that the vast majority of online relationships were still intact two years later in the same proportions that others had found for offline relationships. In addition, they found in a laboratory study that students liked each other more when meeting the first time online versus face-to-face and that assessment remained stable even after meeting
The current paper focuses on the impact that online dating has on self-esteem. First, I will describe the relevant literature regarding how self-esteem manifests within relationships in general. Then, I will discuss the relevant research and analysis on online dating from the perspective of psychological science. I will then discuss, conceptually, how self-esteem can be influenced by engagement in Internet dating services. Finally, I will describe a testable hypothesis, along with methods and research techniques that could be used to study self-esteem as it relates to online dating.
Self-esteem can be defined as one’s positive or negative attitude toward himself or herself (CITE). It acts as a motivational force, and people …show more content…
Online dating has rapidly become a pervasive means of seeking potential partners and has altered both the romantic acquaintance process and the compatibility matching process. Rather than meeting potential partners organically, online dating involves learning a broad range of facts about prospective partners before deciding whether one wants to pursue the individual. This gives users the opportunity to rely on mathematical matching algorithms to determine their romantic fate. Scholars have examined the personality characteristics of people who date online and people who do not, discovering that the two groups tend to be much more similar than different. They are approximately equal in terms of self-esteem and the Big Five personality dimensions (Finkel et al., 2012). However, due to the nature of self-promotion on the Internet dating services, the use of these services among those who place great importance on romantic relationships may depend on an individual’s level of self-esteem. Similar to the advertising of consumer products, Internet dating service users promote themselves by emphasizing their positive qualities such as appearance, social status, and wealth, so as to spark the intrigue of other users. Though this feature can be perceived …show more content…
Hypothesis I hypothesize that how one’s self-esteem is affected by online dating is highly dependent on their baseline self-esteem (self-esteem before using an Internet dating service), the amount of personal information they disclose on their profile, and their willingness to reach out to other users. Those with an elevated self-esteem are more likely to engage in self-disclosure which has been suggested to create a more intimate relationship. In the context of dating via the Internet, when people meet online they tend to reveal much more about themselves immediately in the first few correspondences.
found that those who better expressed their “true self” (their inner feelings) were more likely to have formed close online relationships. Linking “true self” and self-disclosure, McKenna et al. observed that self-disclosure lead to an increase in intimacy and that only after liking and trust were established could an online relationship be formed. McKenna et al. predicted that with more self-disclosure online relationships would develop faster and be more stable than offline relationships. In their field study, in fact, they found that the vast majority of online relationships were still intact two years later in the same proportions that others had found for offline relationships. In addition, they found in a laboratory study that students liked each other more when meeting the first time online versus face-to-face and that assessment remained stable even after meeting