Title:	INFORMATION SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND DATING WEBSITES
Author(s):	Liza Eckert
ISBN:	978-989-8704-03-0
Editors:	Piet Kommers and Pedro Isaías
Year:	2014
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Social media, dating websites, information sharing
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	45
Last Page:	52
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	This study looks at the differences in information shared on social media and dating websites. A survey was conducted asking participants to identify the choices they make in sharing on these kinds of sites, and why they make them. The researcher also conducted a content analysis of 60 profiles from the free dating site OKCupid.com and looked for trends and themes across six different gender and sexual orientation groups. It was found that anonymity plays a large part in what is shared on social media, with screen names providing an outlet for more controversial or radical comments, and real names as well as ties to coworkers and family often lead to self-censorship. Many users discussed being more open about sex but more private about other personal information on dating sites than on social media. The content analysis determined that these users most frequently discuss their interests, plus mention their own sense of humor often in their profiles. It also found the homosexual men had the greatest average word count per profile, while heterosexual men had the lowest. This research was conducted to test if Communication Accommodation Theory can be applied to online interactions, and based on results found that it can. Participants in this study altered their sharing habits based on the intended audience.
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