Abstract:

This paper provides a review of the theories relevant to the understanding of online dating. Dating as a concept and as an activity has a specific history and takes a specific form. It traditionally occurred in the offline world although there were mediated aspects to it with daters advertising themselves in newspapers and magazines and on other available platforms. There are theories that try to explain the dating process and how relationships form between humans. There are associated theories of impression formation which are not exclusive to the dating context but are nonetheless relevant to it. There is then the migration of these various theories from the offline into the online world. This paper reviews all this theoretical evidence through focusing on two key elements. The first is the efficacy with which offline theories can explain behaviour in the online world and the importance of new developments in the explanation of interpersonal relationships and communications in the online world. The second is the cultural specificity of specific theories and any research that has been produced to test them.