The Science of Online Dating

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I read this story on Gizmodo Science: Sorry! Online Dating Is Bullsh*t, it make me laugh while reading it plus I spit some Chianti in the process of laughing.

That piece and the two articles it refers to on Bloomberg Love Under the Algorithms: The Shaky Science of Online Dating and the Association for Psychological Science's website Online Dating: A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science; backs up my own cynicism about Internet dating, from my own negative experiences I had in the past with the virtual version.

Am sticking to the old school way of looking for loving, as traditional dating has been tried and tested by science. Plus its been around a dam lot longer than the digital equivalent.

Supposedly, a significant portion of relationships now begin online. What doesn't work for some undeniably works for others, and declaring online dating to be "bullsh!t" denies those people's experiences.

There's no way I could date the "traditional way" because I don't know where to go to meet people, wouldn't be interested in the vast majority of them, and I'm too weird-acting to give off anything but a horrible first impression. Also, I'm quite picky in that I *must* date an atheist and a non-sexist.

Good luck with that, my friend. Online dating really works well for me. It has given me the opportunity to meet people I would never run into IRL. If you don't have an active social life and aren't in a position to meet people .....ORRRRR you have difficulty approaching people and picking up on interest, than online dating is for you.


FYI: I don't think you understand how online dating actually works. You browse profiles and send messages to someone YOU find appealing regardless of what the matching algorithms produce! That's the way to do it.

Mhmmm. Seconded.

Yeah, I've actually read that it's ~25% of relationships. Of course I think I read that on an online dating site so who knows how accurate it is lol.

My mom and step dad met on match.com they are going to have their 10th anniversary soon. BOOOMM not BS

Its more the case of what works best for an individual, in my case online dating resulted with me ending up in an abusive relationship and having woman just wanting to have casual sex with me (IMO there more to life than sex and sex is just a part of life), that's the reason why I stopped using the digital way & the reason why am cynical about that method. Plus I find am easier deceived more so with online dating than traditional dating. I might go back to online dating tho am giving it a very wide berth!

I have had success in the past using traditional methods, What I do find that there is currently and the future going to be an over-reliance on digital socialising and dating with have a detrimental impact on the traditional forms. Right now am happy to be single as dating is currently low on my priorities.

Also would you trust a computer to you help select a potential partner? I wouldn't as that trust is also being placed in the software developers of the code involved in matchmaking.

Well it would be like the old Dating Service, you get the basic info & then you set them up on matches. Not really new, but then your trusting the person is working in your best interest. So of course we won't, like we ignore it already. Because we know it's prone to errors, it's only as good as it's programmed & on what information is inserted into it.

Absolutely, I would.
I don't think in algorithms, however flawed.

Bingo spoken like a computer scientist, like I am that's what I did my degree in. That question was a similar question about Human-computer interaction and trust in I head from a professor of mine at university, he is a leading expert on autonomous agents and multiagent systems, its a field of computer science that price comparison websites and search engines use for there algorithms.

Am not sure if dating sites use agent based computation in there code.

Ok another question. Would you be willing to let maleficent software search for a possible date for you?
Remember now my sources did point that the search code in use by these sites are closed sourced.

Please watch this, its a cool talk about the social impact of closed sourced software
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFZGpES-St8[/youtube]

Now do you still trust computer software?

Absolutely.

"Maleficient software search" has a much better track record of getting me dates and boyfriends.

Dating sites: two dozen points
Valentine on her own: 1

Wiggin, are you aware of the fact that your nose scrunches up like a rabbit's when you smile? How adorable. I would be staring at it with a bemused look upon my face of we were ever talking in person...so if your ears wiggle or your arms flap around in concert with your speech, or whatever weird behaviour you think creates a poor first impression in your case, I would be completely oblivious I think.

The score should be;

Dating sites: 24
Wiggin: 1
Wiggin's nose: unknown potential

It's 5:26 AM and my day has been made.
Thank you, Sir. (I adore the whimsicality of your username, as a side note- I've thought of telling you previously. I'll likely name a Sims character after you. He will wear suspenders.)

New Yorker article on the 'science' of online dating:

newyorker.com

Guybrush Threepwood from the game "The Secret of Monkey Island" I believe...great name...

Yes...yes it is

I hope in Wiggen's sims game he gets it on with all the girls in the neighbourhood

WooHoo