Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T22:49:42.642Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I am busy independent woman who has sense of humor, caring about others’: older adults’ self-representations in online dating profiles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2017

MINEKO WADA ,
LAURA HURD CLARKE  and
W. BEN MORTENSON Open the ORCID record for W. BEN MORTENSON [Opens in a new window]
MINEKO WADA*
Affiliation:
STAR Institute, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
LAURA HURD CLARKE
Affiliation:
School of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
W. BEN MORTENSON
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
*
Address for correspondence: Mineko Wada, STAR Institute, Simon Fraser University, #2800–515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 5K3, Canada E-mail: mineko_wada@sfu.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Similar to their younger counterparts, older adults (age 60+) are increasingly turning to online dating sites to find potential romantic and sexual partners. In this paper, we draw upon qualitative data from a thematic analysis of 320 randomly selected online dating profiles posted by Canadian heterosexual older adults who self-identified as Asian, Black, Caucasian or Native American. In particular, we examined how the older adults’ self-presentations varied according to race/ethnicity, age and gender, and how the language they used to describe themselves and their preferred potential partners reflected and reinforced idealised images of ageing. Our analysis identified five primary ways in which the older adults portrayed themselves. They depicted themselves as active and busy with cultural/artistic, social and adventurous activities; and also as physically healthy and intellectually engaged. Third, they emphasised the ways in which they were productive through work and volunteer activities. Fourth, they accentuated their positive approach to life, identifying themselves as happy, fun-loving and humorous individuals. Finally, they highlighted their personable characteristics, portraying themselves as trustworthy and caring. We discuss our findings with a particular focus on gender differences, drawing on literature on masculinity and femininity, and also look at capital and power relations by considering the online dating setting as a field in the Bourdieusian sense.

Keywords

ageingdatingattitudesperceptionsgenderrace/ethnicitythematic analysis
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 39 , Issue 5 , May 2019 , pp. 951 - 976
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agahi, N. and Parker, M. G. 2005. Are today's older people more active than their predecessors? Participation in leisure-time activities in Sweden in 1992 and 2002. Ageing & Society, 25, 6, 925–41.Google Scholar
Aruguete, M. S., Nickleberry, L. D. and Yates, A. 2004. Acculturation, body image, and eating attitudes among Black and White college students. North American Journal of Psychology, 6, 3, 393–404.Google Scholar
Alterovitz, S. S. R. and Mendelsohn, G. A. 2009. Partner preferences across the life span: online dating by older adults. Psychology and Aging, 24, 2, 513–7.Google Scholar
Alterovitz, S. S. R. and Mendelsohn, G. A. 2013. Relationship goals of middle-aged, young-old, and old-old internet daters: an analysis of online personal ads. Journal of Aging Studies, 27, 2, 159–65.Google Scholar
Bartling, C. A., LeDoux, J. A. and Thrasher, D. J. 2005. Internet dating ads: sex, ethnicity, age-related differences, and support for evolutionary theory. American Journal of Psychological Research, 1, 21–31.Google Scholar
Bassett, R., Bourbonnais, V. and McDowell, I. 2007. Living long and keeping well: elderly Canadians account for success in aging. Canadian Journal on Aging, 26, 2, 113–26.Google Scholar
Bayer, K. 2005. Cosmetic surgery and cosmetics: redefining the appearance of age. Generations, 29, 3, 13–18.Google Scholar
Blaine, B. E. 2013. Understanding the Psychology of Diversity. Second edition, Sage, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. 1984. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. 1990. In Other Words: Essays Toward a Reflexive Sociology. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.Google Scholar
Boyle, K. and Johnson, T. J. 2010. MySpace is your space? Examining self-presentation of MySpace users. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 6, 1392–9.Google Scholar
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2, 77–101.Google Scholar
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. 2012. Thematic analysis. In Cooper, H., Camic, P., Long, D. L., Panter, A. T., Rindskopf, D. and Sher, K. J. (eds), APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology, Volume 2: Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, Neuropsychological, and Biological. American Psychological Association, Washington DC, 57–71.Google Scholar
Brown, S. L. and Lin, I.-F. 2012. The gray divorce revolution: rising divorce among middle-aged and older adults, 1990–2010. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67B, 6, 731–41.Google Scholar
Burr, V. 1995. An Introduction to Social Constructionism. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Byers, J. P. 1983. Sexuality and the elderly. Geriatric Nursing, 4, 5, 293–7.Google Scholar
Calasanti, T. M. and King, N. 2005. Firming the floppy penis: age, class, and gender relations in the lives of old men. Men and Masculinities, 8, 1, 3–23.Google Scholar
Calasanti, T. M. and Slevin, K. F. 2006. Introduction. In Calasanti, T. M. and Slevin, K. F. (eds), Age Matters: Realigning Feminist Thinking, Routledge, New York, 1–17.Google Scholar
Choi, N. G., DiNitto, D. M. and Kim, J. 2014. Discrepancy between chronological age and felt age: age group difference in objective and subjective health as correlates. Journal of Aging & Health, 26, 3, 458–73.Google Scholar
Coupland, J. 2000. Past the ‘perfect kind of age’? Styling selves and relationships in over-50s dating advertisements. Journal of Communication, 50, 3, 9–30.Google Scholar
Davis, E. M. and Fingerman, K. L. 2016. Digital dating: online profile content of older and younger adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 71B, 6, 959–67.Google Scholar
Davis, S. N. and Greenstein, T. N. 2009. Gender ideology: components, predictors, and consequences. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 1, 87–105.Google Scholar
DeAndrea, D. C., Tong, S. T., Liang, Y. J., Levine, T. R. and Walther, J. B. 2012. When do people misrepresent themselves to others? The effects of social desirability, ground truth, and accountability on deceptive self-presentations. Journal of Communication, 62, 3, 400–17.Google Scholar
DeLamater, J. 2012. Sexual expression in later life: a review and synthesis. Journal of Sex Research, 49, 2/3, 125–41.Google Scholar
Donaldson, M. 1993. What is hegemonic masculinity? Theory and Society, 22, 5, 643–57.Google Scholar
Duay, D. and Bryan, V. 2006. Senior adults’ perceptions of successful aging. Educational Gerontology, 32, 6, 423–45.Google Scholar
eBizMBA 2017. Top 15 Most Popular Dating Websites – July 2017. Available online at http://www.ebizmba.com [Accessed 2 October 2017].Google Scholar
Edwards, C. and Imrie, R. 2003. Disability and bodies as bearers of value. Sociology, 37, 2, 239–56.Google Scholar
Frohlick, S. and Migliardi, P. 2011. Heterosexual profiling: online dating and ‘becoming’ heterosexualities for women aged 30 and older in the digital era. Australian Feminist Studies, 26, 67, 73–88.Google Scholar
Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. 2000. Cultures of Ageing: Self, Citizen and the Body. Pearson Education, Harlow, UK.Google Scholar
Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. 2013. The fourth age and the concept of a ‘social imaginary’: a theoretical excursus. Journal of Aging Studies, 27, 4, 368–76.Google Scholar
Goffman, E. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday, Garden City, New York.Google Scholar
González, C. 2007. Age-graded sexualities: the struggles of our ageing body. Sexuality & Culture, 11, 4, 31–47.Google Scholar
Gott, M. 2005. Sexuality, Sexual Health and Ageing. Open University Press, Maidenhead, UK.Google Scholar
Hall, J. A., Park, N., Song, H. and Cody, M. J. 2010. Strategic misrepresentation in online dating: the effects of gender, self-monitoring, and personality traits. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 1, 117–35.Google Scholar
Hancock, J. T. and Toma, C. L. 2009. Putting your best face forward: the accuracy of online dating photographs. Journal of Communication, 59, 2, 367–86.Google Scholar
Hasmanová Marhánkova, J. 2011. Leisure in old age – disciplinary practices surrounding the discourse of active ageing. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 6, 1, 5–32.Google Scholar
Hilton, J. M., Gonzalez, C. A., Saleh, M., Maitoza, R. and Anngela-Cole, L. 2012. Perceptions of successful aging among older Latinos, in cross-cultural context. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 27, 3, 183–99.Google Scholar
Hurd Clarke, L. 2011. Facing Age: Women Growing Older in Anti-aging Culture. Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland.Google Scholar
Hurd Clarke, L., Bennett, E. V. and Liu, C. 2014. Aging and masculinity: portrayals in men's magazines. Journal of Aging Studies, 31, 26–33.Google Scholar
Ibrahim, Y. 2015. Self-representation and the disaster event: self-imaging, morality and immortality. Journal of Media Practice, 16, 3, 211–27.Google Scholar
Iwamasa, G. and Iwasaki, M. 2011. A new multidimensional model of successful aging: perceptions of Japanese American older adults. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 26, 3, 261–78.Google Scholar
Jagger, E. 2005. Is thirty the new sixty? Dating, age and gender in a postmodern, consumer society. Sociology, 39, 1, 89–106.Google Scholar
Jönson, H. and Siverskog, A. 2012. Turning vinegar into wine: humorous self-presentations among older GLBTQ online daters. Journal of Aging Studies, 26, 1, 55–64.Google Scholar
Jung, E. H., Walden, J., Johnson, A. C. and Sundar, S. S. 2017. Social networking in the aging context: why older adults use or avoid Facebook. Telematics and Informatics, Published online on 27 April 2017. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2017.04.015.Google Scholar
Kan, M. Y., Sullivan, O. and Gershuny, J. 2011. Gender convergence in domestic work: discerning the effects of interactional and institutional barriers from large-scale data. Sociology, 45, 2, 234–51.Google Scholar
Katz, S. 2000. Busy bodies: activity, aging, and the management of everyday life. Journal of Aging Studies, 14, 2, 135–52.Google Scholar
Katz, S. 2001. Growing older without aging? Positive aging, anti-ageism, and anti-aging. Generations, 25, 4, 27–32.Google Scholar
Katz, S. 2013. Active and successful aging: lifestyle as a gerontological idea. Recherches Sociologiques et Anthropologiques, 44, 1, 33–49.Google Scholar
Katz, S. and Marshall, B. 2003. New sex for old: lifestyle, consumerism, and the ethics of aging well. Journal of Aging Studies, 17, 1, 3–16.Google Scholar
Laslett, P. 1996. A Fresh Map of Life: The Emergence of the Third Age. Macmillan Press, London.Google Scholar
Leary, M. R. 1995. Self-presentation: Impression Management and Interpersonal Behavior. WCB Brown & Benchmark, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Lehtinen, V., Nasanen, J. and Sarvas, R. 2009. ‘A little silly and empty-headed’: older adults’ understandings of social networking sites. British Computer Society Conference on Human–Computer Interaction 2009, 45–54.Google Scholar
Lo, S.-K., Hsieh, A.-Y. and Chiu, Y.-P. 2013. Contradictory deceptive behavior in online dating. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 4, 1755–62.Google Scholar
McGeown, S., Goodwin, H., Henderson, N. and Wright, P. 2012. Gender differences in reading motivation: does sex or gender identity provide a better account? Journal of Research in Reading, 35, 3, 328–36.Google Scholar
McIntosh, W. D., Locker, L. J., Briley, K., Ryan, R. and Scott, A. J. 2011. What do older adults seek in their potential romantic partners? Evidence from online personal ads. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 72, 1, 67–82.Google Scholar
McWilliams, S. and Barrett, A. E. 2014. Online dating in middle and later life: gendered expectations and experiences. Journal of Family Issues, 35, 3, 411–36.Google Scholar
Meier, B. P., Robinson, M. D., Carter, M. S. and Hinsz, V. B. 2010. Are sociable people more beautiful? A zero-acquaintance analysis of agreeableness, extraversion, and attractiveness. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 2, 293–96.Google Scholar
Oliffe, J. L., Grewal, S., Bottorff, J. L., Hislop, T. G., Phillips, M. J., Dhesi, J. and Kang, H. B. K. 2009. Connecting masculinities and physical activity among senior South Asian Canadian immigrant men. Critical Public Health, 19, 3/4, 383–97.Google Scholar
Oliveira, M. 2012. Canada a hotbed of online dating. The Globe and Mail. Available online at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/canada-a-hotbed-of-online-dating/article4312016/ [Accessed 2 October 2017].Google Scholar
Pancer, S. M. 2015. The Psychology of Citizenship and Civic Engagement. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Pendakur, K. and Pendakur, R. 2011. Color by numbers: minority earnings in Canada 1995–2005. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 12, 3, 305–29.Google Scholar
Pfeil, U., Arjan, R. and Zaphiris, P. 2009. Age differences in online social networking – a study of user profiles and the social capital divide among teenagers and older users in MySpace. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 3, 643–54.Google Scholar
Phelan, E. A., Anderson, L. A., Lacroix, A. Z. and Larson, E. B. 2004. Older adults’ views of ‘successful aging’ – how do they compare with researchers’ definitions? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52, 2, 211–6.Google Scholar
Reichstadt, J., Depp, C. A., Palinkas, L. A., Folsom, D. P. and Jeste, D. V. 2007. Building blocks of successful aging: a focus group study of older adults’ perceived contributors to successful aging. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15, 3, 194–201.Google Scholar
Reichstadt, J., Sengupta, G., Depp, C. A., Palinkas, L. A. and Jeste, D. V. 2010. Older adults’ perspectives on successful aging: qualitative interviews. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 7, 567–75.Google Scholar
Schuler, P. B., Vinci, D., Isosaari, R. M., Philipp, S. F., Todorovich, J., Roy, J. L. P. and Evans, R. R. 2008. Body-shape perceptions and body mass index of older African American and European American women. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 23, 3, 255–64.Google Scholar
Shilling, C. 1991. Educating the body: physical capital and the production of social inequalities. Sociology, 25, 4, 653–72.Google Scholar
Smith, A. and Duggan, M. 2013. Online Dating & Relationships. Available online at http://www.pewresearch.org/ [Accessed 2 October 2017].Google Scholar
Statistics Canada 2014 a. Study: Immigration, Low Income and Income Inequality in Canada: What's New in the 2000s? Available online at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/141215/dq141215c-eng.htm [Accessed 2 October 2017].Google Scholar
Statistics Canada 2014 b. Study: Receiving Care at Home, 2012. Available online at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140613/dq140613c-eng.htm [Accessed 2 October 2017].Google Scholar
Stockard, J. 2006. Gender socialization. In Chafetz, J. S. (ed.), Handbook of the Sociology of Gender. Springer, New York, 215–27.Google Scholar
Thomas, H. N., Hess, R. and Thurston, R. C. 2015. Correlates of sexual activity and satisfaction in midlife and older women. Annals of Family Medicine, 13, 4, 336–42.Google Scholar
Toma, C. L., Hancock, J. T. and Ellison, N. B. 2008. Separating fact from fiction: an examination of deceptive self-presentation in online dating profiles. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 8, 1023–36.Google Scholar
Townsend, S. S. M., Markus, H. R. and Bergsieker, H. B. 2009. My choice, your categories: the denial of multiracial identities. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 1, 185–204.Google Scholar
Troutman, M., Nies, M. A. and Mavellia, H. 2011. Perceptions of successful aging in black older adults. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 49, 1, 28–34.Google Scholar
Twigg, J. and Martin, W. 2015. The field of cultural gerontology. In Twigg, J. and Martin, W. (eds), Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology. Routledge, London, 1–15.Google Scholar
Veenstra, G. 2010. Culture and class in Canada. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 35, 1, 83–111.Google Scholar
Vroman, K. G., Arthanat, S. and Lysack, C. 2015. ‘Who over 65 is online?’ Older adults’ dispositions toward information communication technology. Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 156–66.Google Scholar
Wada, M., Mortenson, W. B. and Hurd Clarke, L. 2016. Older adults’ online dating profiles and successful aging. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue Canadienne du Vieillissement, 35, 4, 479–490.Google Scholar
Walther, J. B. 1996. Computer-mediated communication: impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23, 1, 3–43.Google Scholar
Ward, R. A. 2010. How old am I? Perceived age in middle and later life. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 71, 3, 167–84.Google Scholar
Ward, R. A. 2013. Change in perceived age in middle and later life. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 76, 3, 251–67.Google Scholar
Whitty, M. T. 2007. The art of selling one's ‘self’ on an online dating site: the BAR approach. In Whitty, M. T., Baker, A. J. and Inman, J. A. (eds), Online Matchmaking. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 57–69.Google Scholar
Whitty, M. T. 2008. Revealing the ‘real’ me, searching for the ‘actual’ you: presentations of self on an internet dating site. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 4, 1707–23.Google Scholar
Winterich, J. A. 2007. Aging, femininity, and the body: what appearance changes mean to women with age. Gender Issues, 24, 3, 51–69.Google Scholar
Woodward, K. 2006. Performing age, performing gender. NWSA Journal, 18, 1, 162–89.Google Scholar
Wu, Z. and Schimmele, C. M. 2007. Uncoupling in late life. Generations, 31, 3, 41–6.Google Scholar
Xie, B., Watkins, I., Golbeck, J. and Huang, M. 2012. Understanding and changing older adults’ perceptions and learning of social media. Educational Gerontology, 38, 4, 282–96.Google Scholar