<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This study analyzed the e-mail exchange network of participants of a national dating website. The investigation examined whether aggregated partner preferences give rise to distinct, “invisible,” clusters in online dating networks that structure dating opportunities and result in homophilous subgroups. The findings identified and visualized the ten largest network clusters of participants who interacted with each other and examined the dater characteristics most responsible for cluster membership. Rated attractiveness and age were the strongest cluster correlates, whereas education and race were relatively uncommon determinants. In sum, daters’ interdependent actions created aggregate communities unseen by the users themselves, but no less influential for dating opportunities, that were based more on attractiveness and age than on race and education.</p></abstract>

This study analyzed the e-mail exchange network of participants of a national dating website. The investigation examined whether aggregated partner preferences give rise to distinct, “invisible,” clusters in online dating networks that structure dating opportunities and result in homophilous subgroups. The findings identified and visualized the ten largest network clusters of participants who interacted with each other and examined the dater characteristics most responsible for cluster membership. Rated attractiveness and age were the strongest cluster correlates, whereas education and race were relatively uncommon determinants. In sum, daters’ interdependent actions created aggregate communities unseen by the users themselves, but no less influential for dating opportunities, that were based more on attractiveness and age than on race and education.

The Invisible Contours of Online Dating Communities: A Social Network Perspective

Journal of Social Structure

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This study analyzed the e-mail exchange network of participants of a national dating website. The investigation examined whether aggregated partner preferences...

The Invisible Contours of Online Dating Communities: A Social Network Perspective

Published Online: Mar 11, 2018

Page range: 1 - 28

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/joss-2018-004

Keywords
Online social network, dating, ingroup preferences, demographic characteristics

© 2018 Diane H. Felmlee et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Invisible Contours of Online Dating Communities: A Social Network Perspective

Published Online: Mar 11, 2018

Page range: 1 - 28

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/joss-2018-004

KeywordsOnline social network, dating, ingroup preferences, demographic characteristics

© 2018 Diane H. Felmlee et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Online social network, dating, ingroup preferences, demographic characteristics