ABSTRACT

Once perceived as a means for those unsuccessful at traditional dating, online dating has become normalized as a way to seek sexual or romantic partners. In 2019, we interviewed 40 British adults on the role of digital technologies in their sexual lives; this paper draws on the accounts of 22 who had used such technologies for seeking partners. We analyzed qualitative accounts of online partner seeking as a social practice, drawing on a sample diverse in age, gender and sexual orientation, and informed by sexual script and social practice theory. Our theoretically informed analysis emphasized the multiple meanings and goals involved, the affordances of the technology and individuals’ skills. Our study provided several novel contributions. Young heterosexual people commonly used general social media, rather than dating apps, to meet partners; meeting partners often involved complex interplays between online and offline networks and encounters. Risks were defined not merely in relation to “risky others” but in terms of one’s own actions or attitudes. Participants deployed various skills in minimizing harms such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and used self-care skills such as setting limits to engagement.

摘要

曾经被认为是那些在传统约会中失败的人的一种方式，在线约会已经成为一种正常化的寻找性伴侣或浪漫伴侣的方式。2019 年，我们就数字技术在性生活中的作用采访了 40 名英国成年人；本文借鉴了 22 位使用此类技术寻找合作伙伴的人的叙述。我们分析了在线合作伙伴寻求作为一种社会实践的定性描述，利用了不同年龄、性别和性取向的样本，并参考了性脚本和社会实践理论。我们的理论分析强调了所涉及的多重含义和目标、技术和个人技能的可供性。我们的研究提供了几项新颖的贡献。年轻的异性恋者通常使用一般社交媒体而不是约会应用程序来结识伴侣；会见合作伙伴通常涉及在线和离线网络和相遇之间复杂的相互作用。风险的定义不仅与“有风险的他人”有关，而且还与个人的行为或态度有关。参与者运用了各种技能来最大程度地减少伤害，例如在未经同意的情况下分享亲密图像，并使用了自我保健技能，例如设定参与限制。