Online Dating in Japan: A Test of Social Information Processing Theory

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdf?vid=12&hid=107&sid=e063c01e-1dfe-4b6a-ae17-61b33aac1f3b%40sessionmgr112

I thought that this article would be fun, as the Japanese are known for arranged marriages. This study reflects if the social information processing theory can be applied to Japanese online dating. The theory encompasses how and to what extent that the daters in Japan utilized contextual and other clues. Twenty-seven members who use to be with Match.com completed an online survey. In addition, 36 current members were given the same survey. “Japanese online daters adapt their own efforts to present and acquire social information using the cues that the online dating platform provides, although many of these cues are specific to Japanese social context.”
I thought that this was a very interesting study, who would have thought that the Japanese would engage in finding a mate online. The communication styles, for instance the high-context and the low-context were examined. The Japanese are very sensitive to the contextual markers in the online forum. They now have the opportunity to “engage in more direct forms of communication without the social costs associated with many face-to-face contexts.”