Quality singles

Internet Dating and the Work of Fantasy

Bibliographic Data

ID5844799
AuthorsA Arvidsson (0000-0003-0990-8579, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume8
Issue4
Pages671-690
Publication date2006-07-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1461444806065663
OpenAlexW2106022923
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited31

This article builds on a case study of the worldwide online dating site Match.com to develop a theoretical understanding of the place of communication and affect in the information economy. Drawing on theoretical debates, secondary sources, a qualitative survey of dating profiles and an analysis of the features and affordances of the Match.com site, the article argues that internet dating seeks to guide the technologically enhanced communicative and affective capacities of internet users to work in ways so that this produces economically valuable content. This is primarily achieved through branding, which as a technique of governance that seeks to work 'from below' and 'empower' users to deploy their freedom in certain particular, pre-programmed ways. The argument is that online dating provides a good illustration of how the information economy actively subsumes communicative action as a form of immaterial labour

Affordance · Argument (complex analysis · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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