Ladies First: The Influence of Mobile Dating Applications on the Psychological Empowerment of Female Users

Informing Science Pub Date : 2018-11-23 DOI:10.28945/4137
M. Tanner, Pabie Q. Tabo
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引用次数: 8

Abstract

Aim/Purpose This study was undertaken to shed light on how the use of a heteronormative mobile dating application creates an environment to promote psychological empowerment among female users within the online dating scene. The study focused on a mobile dating application which specifically challenges traditional gender roles, namely Bumble. Background Mobile dating applications have become an increasingly popular medium for people to meet potential partners. However, users’ pre-existing social norms and biases inform how they communicate on these platforms, and stereotyped judgment about women perpetuates ideologies which continue to oppress them within the cyber world. Despite this, very little research has investigated the experiences of female users of mobile dating applications. Methodology The study was qualitative in nature, and 10 semi-structured interviews of female Bumble users were conducted. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Contribution The study contributes to knowledge by highlighting how key features of mobile dating applications influence various aspects of psychological empowerment as articulated in the findings. Findings The findings show that the Bumble application supports Intrapersonal variables of Psychological Empowerment of female users relative to Domain Specific Perceived Control and Self-Efficacy, Motivation to Control and Perceived Competence. However, Domain Specific Perceived Control can also be negatively impacted due to self-doubt when female users receive little to no matches. Mobile Dating Applications and Psychological Empowerment 290 Interactional variables of psychological empowerment are also supported, as Bumble allows female users to be critically aware of the need to screen potential partners, understand relevant causal agents, develop skills relative to initiating conversations and mobilize resources. However, Bumble is not effective in supporting behavioral variables of psychological empowerment because of limitations in the tool’s functionality and the behavior of the people interacting on the platform. Recommendations for Practitioners The findings are important as they suggest the need to enhance the features available to female users in order to better suit their needs and desire to take control of their lives in the context of dating and/or friendship. Impact on Society The findings reveal the need for a change of perceptions and attitudes on the part of some users to create a safer and more considerate virtual dating space, to truly achieve psychological empowerment. Future Research More research is required on how male and female users domesticate mobile dating applications and how the use of these applications influence their daily lives from a socio-cultural point of view.
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女性优先:移动约会应用对女性用户心理赋权的影响
目的/目的本研究旨在揭示异性恋手机约会应用程序的使用如何创造一种环境,以促进在线约会场景中女性用户的心理赋权。这项研究的重点是一款专门挑战传统性别角色的移动约会应用,即Bumble。手机约会软件已经成为人们寻找潜在伴侣的一种越来越流行的媒介。然而,用户已有的社会规范和偏见决定了他们在这些平台上的交流方式,对女性的刻板印象使网络世界中压迫女性的意识形态得以延续。尽管如此,很少有研究调查移动约会应用程序的女性用户的体验。本研究采用定性方法,对10名Bumble女性用户进行了半结构化访谈。采用专题分析法对数据进行分析。该研究通过强调手机约会应用程序的关键特征如何影响研究结果中所阐述的心理赋权的各个方面,为知识做出了贡献。研究结果表明,Bumble应用程序支持女性用户心理赋权的个人内部变量,涉及特定领域感知控制和自我效能、控制动机和感知能力。然而,领域特定感知控制也会受到负面影响,因为女性用户很少或根本没有得到匹配。290心理赋权的互动变量也得到了支持,因为Bumble允许女性用户批判性地意识到筛选潜在伴侣的必要性,了解相关的因果因素,发展与发起对话和调动资源相关的技能。然而,Bumble在支持心理授权的行为变量方面并不有效,因为该工具的功能和在平台上交互的人们的行为受到限制。对从业者的建议这些发现很重要,因为它们表明需要增强女性用户可用的功能,以便更好地满足她们在约会和/或友谊中控制自己生活的需求和愿望。调查结果显示,一些用户需要改变观念和态度,以创造一个更安全、更体贴的虚拟约会空间,真正实现心理赋权。未来的研究需要更多的研究来研究男性和女性用户如何驯化移动约会应用程序,以及从社会文化的角度来看,这些应用程序的使用如何影响他们的日常生活。
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来源期刊
Informing Science
Informing Science Social Sciences-Library and Information Sciences
CiteScore
1.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
9
期刊介绍: The academically peer refereed journal Informing Science endeavors to provide an understanding of the complexities in informing clientele. Fields from information systems, library science, journalism in all its forms to education all contribute to this science. These fields, which developed independently and have been researched in separate disciplines, are evolving to form a new transdiscipline, Informing Science.
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