Online Sexual Partner Seeking as a Social Practice

Qualitative Evidence from the 4 th British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-4)

Bibliographic Data

ID10205671
AuthorsDavid Reid (0000-0002-8743-2070, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), David S Reid (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Wendy Macdowall (0000-0001-5868-8336, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Ruth Lewis (0000-0002-6768-6188, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow), B Hogan (0000-0003-3887-5008, Internet Society), Kirstin R Mitchell (0000-0002-4409-6601, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow), Raquel Bosó Pérez (0000-0001-7342-4566, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow), Jo Gibbs (0000-0001-5696-0260, Institute for Global Health, University College London), Clarissa Smith (0000-0002-0046-8733, Northumbria University), Feona Attwood (0000-0002-0129-5862, independent scholar), Catherine H Mercer (0000-0002-4220-5034, Institute for Global Health, University College London), Pam Sonnenberg (0000-0002-1067-1583, Institute for Global Health, University College London), Chris Bonell (0000-0002-6253-6498, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume59
Issue8
Pages1034-1044
Publication date2021-11-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Sex Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4499 • E-ISSN: 1559-8519
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00224499.2021.1994516
PMID34792430
OpenAlexW3212612330
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited23

Once perceived as a means for those unsuccessful at traditional dating, online dating has become normalized as a way to seek sexual or romantic partners. In 2019, we interviewed 40 British adults on the role of digital technologies in their sexual lives; this paper draws on the accounts of 22 who had used such technologies for seeking partners. We analyzed qualitative accounts of online partner seeking as a social practice, drawing on a sample diverse in age, gender and sexual orientation, and informed by sexual script and social practice theory. Our theoretically informed analysis emphasized the multiple meanings and goals involved, the affordances of the technology and individuals' skills. Our study provided several novel contributions. Young heterosexual people commonly used general social media, rather than dating apps, to meet partners; meeting partners often involved complex interplays between online and offline networks and encounters. Risks were defined not merely in relation to "risky others" but in terms of one's own actions or attitudes. Participants deployed various skills in minimizing harms such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and used self-care skills such as setting limits to engagement

Affordance · Developmental psychology · Human sexuality · Qualitative research · Sexual orientation · Social media · Social science · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Marriage and Sexual Relationships · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology

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