When Online Dating Partners Meet Offline: The Effect of Modality Switching on Relational Communication Between Online Daters

Despite the popularity of online dating sites, little is known about what occurs when online dating partners choose to communicate offline. Drawing upon the modality switching perspective, the present study assessed a national sample of online daters to determine whether face‐to‐face (FtF) relational outcomes could be predicted by the amount of online communication prior to the initial FtF meeting. Results were consistent with the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between the amount of online communication and perceptions of relational messages (intimacy, composure, informality, social orientation), forecasts of the future of the relationship, and information seeking behavior when meeting their partner FtF. The results provide support for the modality switching perspective, and offer important insight for online daters.     

From the Side of Both Relationship Initiator and Responder: The Importance of Look and Geographical Distance in Online Dating

Physical appearance is known to influence individuals’ search for a romantic relationship. However, previous studies seldom consider how this factor plays its role at two sides of an online dating relationship formation (including dating and sexual intention). This study leverages data from a photo-based dating app to address this issue and further explore the importance of geographical distance. Due to the app's unique design, we can better isolate the effects of physical attractiveness. In addition, we employ human face recognition techniques based on machine learning to enable efficient and scalable computation of each user's physical attractiveness. Our analyses reveal the following findings: First, physical appearance plays different roles in people's decisions to initiate or respond to a dating request. Second, geographical distance remains an important consideration, but only in some scenarios involving similar or different physical attractiveness levels between the initiators and responders.     

Deception in avatar-mediated virtual environment

This study explored the effects of avatars on deception – how perceived avatar likeness to self can affect the truthfulness and accuracy of interactions online. More specifically, this study examined the extent to which perceived avatar similarity influences self-awareness and users’ degree of attraction to them, and how these psychological states affect deception in the context of Second Life. The results, based on web-based survey data of 159 Second Life users, revealed that avatar similarity in attitude and behavior to the owner heightened self-awareness, which, in turn, reduced deception. Perceived avatar similarity in terms of appearance was found to have a direct negative impact on deception so that those who perceived their avatars to look similar to themselves were less likely to engage in deceptive behavior. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Me,myself and I: The role of interactional context on self-presentation through avatars

This paper investigates whether the nature of an online environment can prime users to create avatars that emphasize particular characteristics. Participants created an avatar for one of three contrasting settings: blogging, dating or gaming. For the most part, avatars in blogging were created to accurately reflect their owners’ physical appearance, lifestyle and preferences. By contrast, participants in the dating and gaming treatments accentuated certain aspects of their avatar to reflect the tone and perceived expectations of the context. For instance, avatars in dating were made to look more attractive while avatars in gaming were made to look more intellectual. Yet, predominantly, these emphasized avatar attributes drew on participants’ self-image, and thus avatars were perceived by their owners as highly similar to themselves. The implications of these results are discussed against current frameworks of online identity and behavior. Most importantly, we use our results to extract design recommendations for improving avatar-driven applications.     

Social compensation or rich-get-richer? The role of social competence in college students’ use of the Internet to find a partner

Online dating continues to grow rapidly in popularity every day, yet the role of social competence in online dating behavior remains unclear. This study was designed to expand previous research and conduct a comprehensive investigation on how social competence is associated with college students’ online dating behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes. Two hypotheses were tested: The social compensation hypothesis (SCH)—socially incompetent individuals would engage in more online dating, and the rich-get-richer hypothesis (RGRH)—socially competent individuals would use online dating more than their incompetent counterparts. The results showed that incompetent individuals, despite their ability to see benefits in online dating, did not show a favorable attitude towards online dating. They indicated a more frequent use of and a stronger preference for face-to-face dating compared to online dating, which contradicted the SCH. There were weak associations between competence traits and online dating behavior. Socially competent individuals perceived less benefit and showed less interest in online dating, which disconfirmed the RGRH.     

Impact of Information Seeking and Warning Frames on Online Deception:A Quasi-Experiment

As the World Wide Web grows, the number and variety of online deceptive attacks likewise increases. Extant research examines online deception from an information processing perspective. However, users’ ability to process information is partly based on their information seeking modes. Information seeking has not been well studied in the security domain. Accordingly, this study explores the effect of users’ information seeking modes on their deception detection behavior. Specifically, we propose that human information needs and the framing of important information such as warnings significantly impact users’ vulnerability to online deception. Results suggest that users are more vulnerable to deception when they are actively seeking information compared with when seeking information passively and that warning frames have a positive effect on users’ attitude toward dealing with online deception. The findings also suggest that users’ attitudes and behaviors are not aligned.     

How gender role stereotypes affect attraction in an online dating scenario

Today, it is not uncommon to meet someone and begin a romantic relationship online. Meeting on a dating website differs from meeting in person because a dating profile is created first that allows others to review potential romantic partners. Few studies have examined romantic attraction within an online dating context, and even fewer have examined how gender roles may influence attraction. The current study¹ (N = 447, 49.4% female) examined the effects of gender role congruence and physical attractiveness on romantic interest in college students. Participants viewed online dating profiles that varied in their physical attractiveness and adherence to gender role norms. Results indicated that both men and women preferred attractive and gender role incongruent dating partners over average looking and gender role congruent. Contrary to previous research, women differentiated more between profiles based on physical attractiveness than the men, especially for gender role congruent profiles. Men were especially interested in attractive, gender role incongruent profiles. After physical attractiveness, gender role incongruence was the greatest factor that determined interest in a profile. Future research may need to consider how the potential seriousness of a relationship, as defined by the expected length of the relationship, influences how online profile characteristics affect attraction and interest.     

Does online interactivity matter? Exploring the role of interactivity strategies in consumer decision making

Given that the Internet does not afford an opportunity to inspect products before purchase, some customers hesitate to shop online. Online interactivity can supplement online decision-making with added product information. Based on the theories of impression management and deception, this study focuses on sellers’ online interactivity strategies (SOIS) and aims to explore the role of SOIS played in online purchase decision-making process. According to the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) paradigm, this study aims to understand how each component of SOIS affects transaction intention through consumer perceptions (perceived deception and perceived diagnosticity) and how this affect is moderated by product types (search goods and experience goods) in online marketplaces. Data collected from 475 respondents support most of our hypotheses. Product type positively moderates only the link between image creation and perceived deception. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.     

User adoption of social networking sites: Eliciting uses and gratifications through a means–end approach

This research examines users’ motives for adopting and using social networking sites (SNSs), with the aim of providing a better understanding of the fundamental reasons behind SNS adoption behavior. To uncover the relationship between the attributes of SNSs and users’ perceptions of their consequences and values, this study integrates a means–end approach with uses and gratifications theory and thereby extends the technique to a communication media selection context. Laddering interviews identify users’ perceptions of five attributes, 10 consequences, and four values associated with SNS adoption (i.e., Facebook). The results show that belonging, hedonism, self-esteem, and reciprocity are the four main values users attain through SNS adoption. Furthermore, the chains associated with SNS adoption can be represented in a hierarchical value map. This study should help practitioners design online communication platforms that more closely fit their users’ needs and provide users with safer, more friendly, and thus more attractive environments.     

Authenticity and well-being on social network sites: A two-wave longitudinal study on the effects of online authenticity and the positivity bias in SNS communication

In offline settings, authentic behavior has frequently been linked to increased well-being. Social network sites (SNSs) provide a new venue for authenticity, yet the effects of online authenticity are largely unknown. The present study investigated the reciprocal effects of authenticity on SNSs and the psychological well-being of SNS users in a two-wave longitudinal study (N = 374). The results demonstrate that online authenticity had a positive longitudinal effect on three indicators of subjective well-being. The data further illustrate that this beneficial effect of SNS use is not equally accessible to all users: participants with low levels of well-being were less likely to feel authentic on SNSs and to benefit from authenticity. We propose that the results can be explained in light of a “positivity bias in SNS communication” that favors positive forms of authenticity over negative ones.     

The application of netnography to the online dating service experiences of female users

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of online dating sites, a specialised form of social media, is to aid their users in finding love and making friends. However, while such sites are very popular, only limited research has been conducted to investigate the experiences of female dating site users. Moreover, the factors underlying the popularity of online dating sites have also yet to be fully clarified. Therefore, the current study utilised netnography and online interviews to explore the experiences of female dating site users, while also observing the physical travel paths of such users within the field. More specifically, the particular situational context of online dating was investigated through an approach that included the following three stages: the observation and collection of online data, participation in an active manner, and emergent design. The study’s key theoretical contribution is its establishment of a netnography model along with eight associated propositions. Overall, the study’s findings substantially illuminate the online dating site experiences of female site users.     

Students’ perceptions of collaboration, self-regulated learning, and information seeking in the context of Internet-based learning and traditional learning

This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of three aspects of learning - collaboration, self-regulated learning (SRL), and information seeking (IS) in both Internet-based and traditional face-to-face learning contexts. A multi-dimensional questionnaire was designed to evaluate each aspect in terms of perceived capability, experience, and interest. The analyses explore (1) potential differences of students’ perceptions between Internet-based and face-to-face learning environments and (2) potential differences in the three aspects in relation to learners’ attributes and the use of the Internet and enrollment in online courses. This study surveyed students in a higher education institute who had had experiences with Internet-based and face-to-face learning. The results showed that students perceived higher levels of collaboration (capability only), SRL (capability and experience) and IS (capability, interest, and experience) in Internet-based learning than in traditional learning environments. In terms of students’ education level, graduate students perceived higher levels of capabilities and interests in some of the aspects, than undergraduate students. In addition, for Internet-based learning, significant differences in collaboration and SRL were found derived from time spent on the Internet related to learning; and students’ perceptions of collaboration, SRL, and IS were all positively correlated to students’ online course-taking experience. Implications for online learning practices and instructor’s facilitation are discussed.     

The influence of online store beliefs on consumer online impulse buying: A model and empirical application

Our study provides insight into the relationships between online store beliefs and consumer online impulse buying behavior. Drawing upon cognitive emotion theory, we developed a model and showed how beliefs about functional convenience (online store merchandise attractiveness and ease of use) and about representational delight (enjoyment and website communication style) related to online impulse buying. The model was tested using survey data from 532 customers of a Dutch online store. Our results showed significant effects of merchandise attractiveness, enjoyment, and online store communication style, mediated by consumers’ emotions. The study should enhance our understanding of online impulse buying and, by assessing the impact of the online store, of beliefs in non-rational decision-making settings.     

Why do people lie online? “Because everyone lies on the internet”

In this study, we examined online deception across four different online venues (i.e., social media, online dating, anonymous chat rooms, and sexual websites) in a sample of 272 U.S. adults (average age = 32.22 years) recruited through Amazon’s MTurk. Few of the participants (16%–32%) reported that they were or would be always honest across these sites, and even fewer (0–2%) suspected that others were always honest in these different online venues. In terms of types of lie, most (55–90%) believed that others were at least sometimes lying about their age, gender, activities, interests, and appearance across the four online venues. Ninety percent expected others to lie at least sometimes about their appearance (most expected lie type) and 55% expected others to lie at least sometimes about their gender (least expected lie type). However, although they expected people to lie more about their gender on sites with more anonymity and invisibility (like anonymous chat rooms and sexual websites), they expected equal rates of lies about appearance across all four websites, even on sites where users provide pictures and have shared acquaintances. Moreover, perceptions of others’ lying behavior on the venue were more significant predictors of own lying behavior than any of the personal characteristics we measured (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, extraversion, or internet addiction). The importance of mutuality was further reinforced by qualitative comments that showed that, in addition to lying to look more attractive or for privacy or protection concerns, some people lie “because everyone lies on the internet.”     

Evaluating the consistency of immediate aesthetic perceptions of web pages

Two experiments were designed to replicate and extend [Lindgaard et al.'s, 2006. Attention web designers: you have 50 ms to make a good first impression! Behaviour and Information Technology 25(2), 115–126] findings that users can form immediate aesthetic impression of web pages, and that these impressions are highly stable. Using explicit (subjective evaluations) and implicit (response latency) measures, the experiments demonstrated that, averaged over users, immediate aesthetic impressions of web pages are remarkably consistent. In Experiment 1, 40 participants evaluated 50 web pages in two phases. The average attractiveness ratings of web pages after a very short exposure of 500 ms were highly correlated with average attractiveness ratings after an exposure of 10 s. Extreme attractiveness evaluations (both positive and negative) were faster than moderate evaluations, landing convergent evidence to the hypothesis of immediate impression. The findings also suggest considerable individual differences in evaluations and in the consistency of those evaluations. In Experiment 2, 24 of the 50 web pages from Experiment 1 were evaluated again for their attractiveness after 500 ms exposure. Subsequently, users evaluated the design of the web pages on the dimensions of classical and expressive aesthetics. The results showed high correlation between attractiveness ratings from Experiments 1 and 2. In addition, it appears that low attractiveness is associated mainly with very low ratings of expressive aesthetics. Overall, the results provide direct evidence in support of the premise that aesthetic impressions of web pages are formed quickly. Indirectly, these results also suggest that visual aesthetics plays an important role in users’ evaluations of the IT artifact and in their attitudes toward interactive systems.     

Effect of interactivity on learner perceptions in Web-based instruction

The capacities of the Internet provide a flexible platform for learning that has overcome the limitations of time and space. To compensate for the lack of face-to-face communication in online education, interactivity design has become an important factor affecting online learning. This study examines how different levels of interactivity in Web-based instruction (WBI) influence learners’ perceptions of using WBI systems with a comprehensive interaction design. Three WBI systems were developed with low, medium, and high levels of interactivity, and the effect of interactivity on learners’ perceptions was investigated in a real class. The findings suggest a relationship between the interactivity level and learners’ attitudes, learning, and satisfaction, but not perceived interactivity. The results indicated that the learners required a certain amount of mental effort to access the system initially; however, repeated exposure to the WBI systems increased their ability to operate the systems, which in turn increased the similarity of the interactivity perceptions of the three groups. Although the learners felt no differences in the interactivity toward the end of the 6-week class owing to familiarity with the system, the benefits of higher interactivity remained. This indicates that learners’ interactivity perceptions may change as their experience increases, but different interactivity designs do indeed influence their performance and attitudes in learning.     

The moderating role of income on consumers’ preferences and usage for online and offline payment methods

In this paper we examine consumer attitudes towards a payment method, which is a key factor affecting the probability of completing a transaction offline and online. More specifically, we constructed a model that surveyed the offline and online usage of prepaid e-cash, debit cards, credit cards and cash. User perceptions of the attractiveness of e-cash and various traditional payment means were also empirically assessed. Consumer attitudes towards a payment technology were found to be influential on users’ perceptions in both online and offline environments. User perceptions of offline purchases with a payment technology had significant and positive effects on the corresponding online usage perceptions. The effects of our research model are contingent on the income level of users. Our findings have significant implications, as they could help shed light on why consumers abandon their shopping carts and do not complete their transactions, which could potentially play a significant role when it comes to designing applications targeting sspecific consumer segments.     

The effect of nonverbal cues on relationship formation

An unprecedented number of relationships begin online, propelling online dating into a billion-dollar industry. However, while the online dating industry has created an effective mechanism for matching and accessing profiles, it has largely neglected the quality of communication between individuals. We investigate whether the lack of nonverbal cues (inherent in the text-based communication tools commonly used by dating sites) hinders communication and relationship formation. In this study, members of a dating website interacted through one of four randomly assigned versions of a text chat, where each version featured an increasing number of nonverbal communication cues. A survey was then administered regarding users’ perceptions of each other, the level and quality of information disclosure, and their interest in developing a relationship with the other person. Results suggest that restoring nonverbal cues through the use of avatars can help improve online interaction and relationship formation. Chat versions that featured more nonverbal cues were associated with more favorable perceptions, greater exchange of information, and a stronger desire to pursue a relationship. While both genders found nonverbal communication conducive to developing a relationship, men and women reacted differently to certain types of nonverbal communication.     

The role of self-construal in consumers’ electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites: A social cognitive approach

The current study reconceptualized self-construal as a social cognitive indicator of self-observation that individuals employ for developing and maintaining social relationship with others. From the social cognitive perspective, this study investigated how consumers’ self-construal can affect consumers’ electronic word of mouth (eWOM) behavior through two cognitive factors (online community engagement self-efficacy and social outcome expectations) in the context of a social networking site. This study conducted an online experiment that directed 160 participants to visit a newly created online community. The results demonstrated that consumers’ relational view became salient when the consumers’ self-construal was primed to be interdependent rather than independent. Further, the results showed that such interdependent self-construal positively influenced consumers’ eWOM behavioral intentions through their community engagement self-efficacy and their social outcome expectations.