Erving Goffman's Theory Of Online Dating

In the current time 's, most millennials do not have the free time to be sitting on a computer to create a profile for any website but, especially for dating apps. Millennials think this as it takes an unusually long time for them to create the perfect first impression of themselves to others. Due to this problem dating apps have been made to streamline the process, of setting up a profile and, make it easier for people to find dates and potential long-term matches. The quickness of profile setup has caused the app industry for dating to grow quickly causing possible problems for people. In a New York Times Debate article, four people talked about their experiences in the dating app world. Some were happy and found it valuable while others …show more content…
If people do not give out the perfect personification of themselves, they cannot get the matches and potential dates they want. In communication, there is a theory of Identity by Erving Goffman, which talks about how there a performance that he says is "the activity of an individual which occurs during a period marked by his continuous presence before a particular set of observers"(Goffman). He says that a person is going to show off to others and he does that through a stage. The front Stage is what everyone sees during the individual 's performance. It is where the person controls what the audience sees and hears there is also a backstage where a person is free to be more like themselves and less focused on being perfect. The idea of the front stage and back stage is important in online dating due to people being able to control what people see on a profile and making sure that people see the proper and regular side of the individual. This idea also allows for them to keep the viewers from seeing the less good side of them. Also with them controlling what people see they can also in a way control what people say to them and get the response they …show more content…
They also spoke of the effect of gender, race and, identity on them when using online dating. The first argument is by Ms. Claire Roudabush. She gives a positive view on dating apps and how you will always find people who will be rude and impolite and if you ignore them it will be okay. She also concludes that the dating apps could help her find the right person at the end. She says “ I kept my self-esteem out of it by staying honest with myself about what I was searching for — a fellow hopeless romantic”(Roudabush). When saying this, she shows that she is someone who is going, to be honest with others and want to have the same from them. Thus showing that she is trying to both keep people from feeling like they got tricked while also retaining her moral