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Dating Apps

The Science and Culture of Our Contemporary Love

Dating Apps cover

Dating Apps

The Science and Culture of Our Contemporary Love

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Pre-order. Available 13 May 2027
$35.99 RRP $39.99 Website price saving $4.00 (10%)

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Description

In this comprehensive overview of dating app culture, Lik Sam Chan explores the behaviours and dynamics of this contemporary love form, the fundamental nature of online communication and how app users navigate essential interpersonal processes that foster intimacy.

By dissecting the psychology behind app design and user motivations, Chan reveals the complex and overlooked ways these platforms shape people's pursuit of connection, showing that far from being mere tools, dating apps are deeply embedded in broader sexual, racial, and queer politics. Dating Apps examines both the opportunities and challenges faced by female dating app users, while addressing the manifestations of toxic masculinity prevalent on these platforms, the issue of sexual racism on dating apps, and the role of dating apps in both reinforcing and challenging the dynamics of LGBTQ+ communities.

Dating Apps draws on empirical examples from both the Global North and Global South, offering perspectives across genders and sexualities, to show that contrary to popular belief, dating apps have not fundamentally transformed the nature of intimacy but instead have revolutionized the ways we pursue it.

Table of Contents

Figures
Tables
Acknowledgments

Foundation
Chapter 1 Dating Apps: More Than Hookups
Chapter 2 “Getting It On” Online: How Special Is Online Dating?

Interpersonal Processes
Chapter 3 All It Takes to Start: Disclosing and Presenting Oneself
Chapter 4 “What Are You Looking For?” Reducing and Managing Uncertainty

App Psychology
Chapter 5 Swipe, Screen, Match: The Design and Affordances of Dating Apps
Chapter 6 The Human Side: User Motivations and Personality Traits

Cultural Politics
Chapter 7 The Feminist Question: Are Dating Apps Empowering Women?
Chapter 8 “No Asians, No Blacks”: Sexual Racism in Online Dating
Chapter 9 Do We Still Need Gay Villages? Queer Worldmaking Through Apps

Conclusion
Chapter 10 The Future of Dating Apps

References

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 13 May 2027
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Pages 208
ISBN 9781350585423
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions 234 x 156 mm
Series Digital Intimacies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Lik Sam Chan

Lik Sam Chan is a Lecturer in Digital Cultures in…

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