Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2022

Abstract

Online dating is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States. Due to its increasing popularity, various dimensions of online dating have been studied in recent years. However, no research has explored how the type of digital platforms used impacts online dating. In this research, we investigate how the use of different platforms (computers vs. smartphones) can influence customers’ decision-making process in the context of online dating. Through multiple studies, we demonstrate that while using their computers (vs. smartphones) to evaluate dating profiles, customers will prioritize the inner attributes of the person (e.g., personality and compatibility). Moreover, the effect of device type on customers’ online dating decision-making is moderated by customers’ gender. Finally, our results also exhibit a significant moderated mediation effect in that the device used by female participants moderates the indirect effect of inner attributes of dating profiles on customers evaluations through perceived psychological closeness. We further manipulated perceived psychological distance to dating profiles for females which reveals that when females use smartphones to look at dating profiles, the effect of "psychological distance" on participants' rating is only significant when the profiles have attractive (vs. average) inner attributes. This research contributes to the literature on the use of computers vs. smartphones and the literature on gender differences in online dating. It also has important implications for online dating companies on how to design their websites and mobile applications more suited to customers’ preferences while also considering customers’ gender.

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