Synopses & Reviews
The members of the current generation of "digital guinea pigs" are true social pioneers as they embrace digital technology to create a new realm of mating, dating, and intimacy in America. Ironically, "digital dating" frequently results in an outcome that is exactly opposite to its participants' intended purposes.
The Illusion of Intimacy: Problems in the World of Online Dating is more than a thorough investigation of the realities of modern relationships, many of which begin online—one in five, according to Match.com; the book introduces the reader to some of the natives and industry "users" who make up its clientele. Author John C. Bridges shows how they have adapted to technology to find new interactions, meet new partners, and share new experiences. The research focuses on the dating sites ranked in the top five by actual members of these sites who interviewed with the author to share their personal stories and experiences, all documented by saved emails and text messages.
Review
"Bridges stresses the importance of self-knowledge and emotional resilience in the search for a soul mate. The Illusion of Intimacy can be viewed as an important antidote for the idealistic expectations that millions of people bring to the online search for love with a perfect stranger." - PsycCRITIQUES
Synopsis
This book examines online dating from the "inside," using in-depth interviews with dating website members to reveal—and keenly analyze—what relationships and romance in the 21st century are really like.
Synopsis
• Offers the most complete and insightful "insider's" study of online dating yet to be published
• Explores the new technology and human profiles of the individuals who are changing the face of intimacy in America
• Explains the problems encountered in online dating and examines why newly formed relationships fail at a very high rate
• Utilizes interviews as well as interviewees' own retained copies of emails and text messages to reconstruct both relationships, key events, and "digital break-ups"