USA TODAY – Jan 23 - In his new book, Love in the Time of Algorithms: What Technology Does to Meeting and Mating,
writer Dan Slater argues that online dating has changed society
profoundly.
Q: What is it about online dating today that you believe has made such a big difference?
A:
It's the vast expansion of the dating pool. People tended to be moving
from one relationship to the next a lot faster than they seemed to
before online dating existed.
Q: You suggest that online dating has made relationships more disposable. Why?
A: It made a lot more people feel they are part of a larger mating pool than they were used to.
Q: How much science is really involved in matching people the way online dating does?
A: Online dating does seem to be improving at is the likelihood of two
strangers getting along well on a first date. The psychological science
has not provided the ability to predict long-term compatibility between
a couple who have never met.
Q: How did you meet your wife, Sophie?
A: I used a total of two
sites through which I dated on and off about 12 months.Sophie and I
actually met in a yoga class in January 2009. I asked her out, but she
had a boyfriend. We went our separate ways for 2½ years. Then we
reconnected on Facebook.
by Sharon Jayson
See full article at USA Today
The real challenge for dating sites is to engineer serendipity. Right now they’re focused on matchmaking. That puzzle will be solved in the next 10 years, and then the challenge will be to help people like Dan meet up with Sophie more quickly than in 2 1/2 years.
The phone will get to know you more intimately in future. Your phone will be your matchmaker. It will know when you’re really single, and have a ringside seat to your life, and more accurately guide you to stumble upon an appropriate mate. However, your phone will not be a ‘phone’ in 10 years. It will be something in between an ipad mini and a Samsung Galaxy Note. That format will win through and endure, ultimately.
The real challenge for dating sites is to engineer serendipity. Right now they’re focused on matchmaking. That puzzle will be solved in the next 10 years, and then the challenge will be to help people like Dan meet up with Sophie more quickly than in 2 1/2 years.
The phone will get to know you more intimately in future. Your phone will be your matchmaker. It will know when you’re really single, and have a ringside seat to your life, and more accurately guide you to stumble upon an appropriate mate. However, your phone will not be a ‘phone’ in 10 years. It will be something in between an ipad mini and a Samsung Galaxy Note. That format will win through and endure, ultimately.