Online dating and mating : the use of the Internet to meet sexual partners

Danielle Couch, Pranee Liamputtong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

133 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Australia has experienced a large increase in Internet usage, and online dating is used for seeking romantic and sexual partners. Using a qualitative approach, 15 people who use online dating took part in in-depth, online chat interviews. Nearly all participants used multiple dating sites to seek partners and making use of email, chat and webcam to engage with, assess, validate and qualify their potential sexual partners. They would "filter" the identity of other online daters before taking further actions. They used an array of filters and filtering processes to determine when and how they might progress to face-to-face meetings with these other online daters, and if and how there might be sexual outcomes from these meetings. Participants filtered using the text, photographs, chat, and webcam opportunities available online, and followed progressive personalized steps in communication and engagement in the lead-up to meeting other online daters in person.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)268-279
Number of pages12
JournalQualitative Health Research
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Internet
  • interpersonal relations
  • online dating

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Online dating and mating : the use of the Internet to meet sexual partners'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this