| Summary: | In 2012, more than 14 million people worldwide are using mobile dating (Spira,
2013). 80% of singles prefer mobile dating to online dating (Vale, 2012) as the former
can be connected anytime, anywhere due to widespread adoption of smartphones and
social media (Spira, 2012). Singapore has the greater penetration of smartphone (Reed,
2013) and the highest use of mobile social networking in the world (Chan, 2012), of
which 24 percent is related to mobile dating (Nielsen, 2012). As mobile dating services
gain popularity in Singapore, it becomes a suitable context to study the motivations and
implications behind this emerging phenomenon. This exploratory study examines how
Singaporean mobile dating users strategically market themselves and manage their
romantic interactions in this mediated dating environment, as well as the impact of
mobile dating and privacy concerns raised by disclosing personal and location
information.
The study adopted a mixed method approach of in-depth interviews, participant
observations, and textual analysis of mobile dating profiles. A total of 30 Singaporean
mobile dating users were interviewed. Interview data was analyzed along with
screenshots of interviewee’s mobile profiles and researcher’s observations of the
dynamics of mobile dating technology as well as interactions of mobile daters.
The findings show that mobile dating users in Singapore tend to look for friends,
chats, hookups and one-night stands. Majority mobile daters use real information, create
a realistic impression as well as present the best side of themselves. Physical
attractiveness is found to be very important in mobile dating. Singaporean mobile daters
usually prefer to interact with Singaporeans or Malaysians. After initial text messaging and meaningful and consistent conversations, mobile daters tend to exchange numbers
and meet face to face. Most interviewees feel less awkward to break the ice as well as to
reject someone in mobile dating. Location-based information makes it easier and more
convenient to arrange for meet ups. However, the impact of location-based information
and proximity is found to be limited in the Singapore context as the country is relatively
small and the location services are not very accurate.
|
|---|