Online Matchmaking examines the joys, fears, and disappointments of hooking up with people in cyberspace. It considers issues such as presentation of self online and how relationships develop on the Internet and progress to offline spaces. The darker aspects of online relating, such as, cyberstalking and cyber-harassment are also examined. Cyberspace is thankfully not a homogenous environment, and this book acknowledges the different groups that exist online, by considering how sub-groups, such as S&M groups, meet others in this space. Unlike most other books that exist in this field, the collection includes studies by experts from a variety of disciplines, including Communications, Cultural studies, English, Health, Journalism, Psychology, Rhetoric, and Sociology. Online Matchmaking could be used as a primary or secondary resource for any subject that focuses on cyber-relationships. It also presents an accessible introduction to the topic for anyone interested in the phenomenon of cyber-romance and sexuality.
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes On Contributors
Introduction; M.T.Whitty
PART 1: DEFINING ONLINE MATCHMAKING
From the BBS to the Web: Tracing the Spaces of Online Romance; D.N.DeVoss
Cyborgasms: Ten Years On and Not Enough Learned; R.Hamman
Scripting the Rules for Mars and Venus: Advice Literature and Online Dating; S.Paasonen
PART 2: PRESENTATION OF SELF TO ATTRACT LOVERS
The Art of Selling One's 'Self' on an Online Dating Site: The BAR Approach; M.T.Whitty
Examining Personal Ads and Job Ads; A.Horning
How Do I Love Thee and Thee and Thee: Self-presentation, Deception, and Multiple Relationships Online; J.M.Albright
PART 3: ONLINE DATING PROGRESSION TO FACE-TO-FACE: SUCCESS OR FAILURE?
Expressing Emotion in Text: Email Communication of Online Couples; A.J.Baker
A Progressive Affair: Online Dating to Real World Mating; K.Y.A.McKenna
PART 4: DARKER SIDES OF ONLINE DATING
Cyber-Stalking as (Mis)Matchmaking; B.H.Spitzberg & W.R.Cupach
Cyber-Victimization and Online Dating; R.A.Jerin & B.Dolinsky
PART 5: ONLINE DATING SUB-GROUPS
Sexual Orientation Moderates Online Sexual Activities; R.M.Mathy
Whips and Chains? Fact or Fiction?: Content Analysis of Sadomasochism in Internet Personal Advertisements; D.K.Wysocki & J.Thalken
Conclusion: M.T.Whitty
Author Index
Subject Index
MONICA T. WHITTY is Lecturer in Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, UK. She lectures on cyberpsychology, social psychology and qualitative methods. Her major research interests include online dating, cyber-relationships, Internet infidelity, identity, misrepresentation of self online, cyberstalking, cyberethics, and Internet and email surveillance in the workplace. She is author of Cyberspace Romance: The Psychology of Online Relationships (with Adrian N. Carr).
ANDREA J. BAKER is a Sociology Professor at Ohio University, USA. She has studied online relationships since 1997, collecting data for the 1998 paper, Cyberspace Couples Finding Romance Online Then Meeting for the First Time in Real Life. She is author of Double Click: Romance and Commitment of Online Couples which is about 89 couples that met in chat rooms, forums and dating sites. Her interests include online communication and virtual communities.
JAMES A. INMAN is at the College of Law, University of Tennessee, USA. He teaches and researches on rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy. His previous books include Technology and English Studies: Innovative Professional Paths (with Beth L. Hewett), Computers and Writing: The Cyborg Era, and Electronic Collaboration in the Humanities: Issues and Options (with Cheryl Reed and Peter Sands)
Description
Online Matchmaking examines the joys, fears, and disappointments of hooking up with people in cyberspace. It considers issues such as presentation of self online and how relationships develop on the Internet and progress to offline spaces. The darker aspects of online relating, such as, cyberstalking and cyber-harassment are also examined. Cyberspace is thankfully not a homogenous environment, and this book acknowledges the different groups that exist online, by considering how sub-groups, such as S&M groups, meet others in this space. Unlike most other books that exist in this field, the collection includes studies by experts from a variety of disciplines, including Communications, Cultural studies, English, Health, Journalism, Psychology, Rhetoric, and Sociology. Online Matchmaking could be used as a primary or secondary resource for any subject that focuses on cyber-relationships. It also presents an accessible introduction to the topic for anyone interested in the phenomenon of cyber-romance and sexuality.
Contents
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes On Contributors
Introduction; M.T.Whitty
PART 1: DEFINING ONLINE MATCHMAKING
From the BBS to the Web: Tracing the Spaces of Online Romance; D.N.DeVoss
Cyborgasms: Ten Years On and Not Enough Learned; R.Hamman
Scripting the Rules for Mars and Venus: Advice Literature and Online Dating; S.Paasonen
PART 2: PRESENTATION OF SELF TO ATTRACT LOVERS
The Art of Selling One's 'Self' on an Online Dating Site: The BAR Approach; M.T.Whitty
Examining Personal Ads and Job Ads; A.Horning
How Do I Love Thee and Thee and Thee: Self-presentation, Deception, and Multiple Relationships Online; J.M.Albright
PART 3: ONLINE DATING PROGRESSION TO FACE-TO-FACE: SUCCESS OR FAILURE?
Expressing Emotion in Text: Email Communication of Online Couples; A.J.Baker
A Progressive Affair: Online Dating to Real World Mating; K.Y.A.McKenna
PART 4: DARKER SIDES OF ONLINE DATING
Cyber-Stalking as (Mis)Matchmaking; B.H.Spitzberg & W.R.Cupach
Cyber-Victimization and Online Dating; R.A.Jerin & B.Dolinsky
PART 5: ONLINE DATING SUB-GROUPS
Sexual Orientation Moderates Online Sexual Activities; R.M.Mathy
Whips and Chains? Fact or Fiction?: Content Analysis of Sadomasochism in Internet Personal Advertisements; D.K.Wysocki & J.Thalken
Conclusion: M.T.Whitty
Author Index
Subject Index
Authors
MONICA T. WHITTY is Lecturer in Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, UK. She lectures on cyberpsychology, social psychology and qualitative methods. Her major research interests include online dating, cyber-relationships, Internet infidelity, identity, misrepresentation of self online, cyberstalking, cyberethics, and Internet and email surveillance in the workplace. She is author of Cyberspace Romance: The Psychology of Online Relationships (with Adrian N. Carr).
ANDREA J. BAKER is a Sociology Professor at Ohio University, USA. She has studied online relationships since 1997, collecting data for the 1998 paper, Cyberspace Couples Finding Romance Online Then Meeting for the First Time in Real Life. She is author of Double Click: Romance and Commitment of Online Couples which is about 89 couples that met in chat rooms, forums and dating sites. Her interests include online communication and virtual communities.
JAMES A. INMAN is at the College of Law, University of Tennessee, USA. He teaches and researches on rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy. His previous books include Technology and English Studies: Innovative Professional Paths (with Beth L. Hewett), Computers and Writing: The Cyborg Era, and Electronic Collaboration in the Humanities: Issues and Options (with Cheryl Reed and Peter Sands)
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