Thesis Question and Statement of Purpose
For my term project for my Evolution and Trends in Digital Media course in the MCDM program, I propose conducting research focusing on the phenomenom of online dating. For purposes of this proposal, online dating shall be defined as the collective body of subject matter and practices related to using the contemporary web to find romantic partners. The adjective “romantic” herein does quite possibly possess a broad definition, but the project itself will be contained in a much narrower field of focus — romantic will have to be specifically defined. (I will probably settle in the final presentation on defining romantic partnering as the act of finding a longterm familial relationship, so as to exclude more than a cursory glance at services and practices related to casual dating and sexual encounters.) In terms of my thesis, I intend to answer the specific question: has online dating become a “supervening social necessity”; meaning, is going online to find a dating partner productive, useful, and most importantly, ubiquitous, and what does that mean? To get to this end, I’ll have to answer other important questions, such as examining what practices existed before online dating (and concurrently with online dating today), what kinds of persons are practicing online dating, and a more hypothetical question surrounding what would be the state of dating rituals without the Internet. Considering the rise of many contemporary dating practices in the western world during the twentieth century, how has the Internet brought greater utility to the pursuit of a mate, or has it at all? Or, is it actually a hinderance? The assumed popularity of online dating appears to justify this research pursuit.
Methodology
Our term projects are initially broken down into two preliminary papers. This breakdown will supply the outline for this research. The first paper, which is to be related to historicity, will be more quantitative in nature and examine approximately five sources, including works related to the history of contemporary dating rituals, and also works that review trends and figures within online dating as a natural outgrowth of traditional dating practices. Thus, I will within this paper have to connect traditional dating with online dating. In all of this I will have to respond to notions and concepts of dating in general; this will lay the groundwork for the remainder of the project. What expectations do people have in traditional dating and online dating? – a question that will help determine why people use online dating services as opposed to traditional dating practices that exclude the web. This research will include Sherry Southard’s article cited below on web dating expectations.
The second paper, focusing on the present and future of the online dating topic, will be more qualitative in its findings. I will perform a short ethnographic research attempting to use eHarmony and up to four more online dating services to secure dates and report on the experience of using the services (and perhaps on the dates themselves). I will also review popular media and blogs (and probably web forums) for thoughts and personal stories from others relative to the subject, and then further summarize my experiences in light of such. This should bring my list of sources to ten, adding to the five from the first paper. This breakdown is subject to change.
The final term project will combine and theorize upon all of the above, finally leading to a satisfactory answering of the thesis question: is online dating a supervenience supplied by technology, circumstance, and time?
Initial References
eHarmony #1 trusted relationship site move beyond “traditional” online dating. Retrieved 1/23/2009, 2009, from http://www.eharmony.com/
Southard, S. (2008). “Shopping” for a mate: Expected versus experienced preferences in online mate choice Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=35061343&site=ehost-live
You might also enjoy...
Tags: online dating, society, technology