Award Date

5-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies

First Committee Member

Julian Kilker

Second Committee Member

David Nourse

Third Committee Member

Linda Dam

Fourth Committee Member

Patrick Sean Clark

Number of Pages

111

Abstract

This study uses a frame analysis comparison of the website design of secular and religious online dating websites and how these design choices may shape users’ self- presentation. Literature is reviewed regarding the history of dating in secular, religious, and online contexts, self-presentation within Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, and user-experience design patterns. Methodology explored a user-experience frame analysis of the initial boarding experiences navigating the presentation (homepage) and interaction features (profile-building page) on three dating sites (two secular, Tinder and Bumble, and one religious, Christian Mingle). Frames analyzed were Options, Fun, Safety, and Control based on the dating literature. After analysis, it was determined that Tinder and Bumble features could be categorized under all four frames used for analysis, whereas Christian Mingle could only be categorized under Control and not the Options, Fun, and Safety frames. Profile-building and presentation features in Tinder’s website design imply that users have freedom of self- presentation and can use the platform for a wide variety of goals, including non-dating and non- sexual friendships. In contrast, Bumble’s website design implies that female-identifying users have control and encourage users to be detail-oriented in their self-presentation, while Christian Mingle’s website design implies that one should use the platform in order to find a traditional, faith-based, heterosexual marriage, and should self-present as wanting such relationship. Both Tinder and Bumble’s website design include user-experience features that are progressive and modern, while Christian Mingle’s website design features are conservative and less experimental.

Keywords

comparison; dating; frame; online; user-experience; website-design

Disciplines

Broadcast and Video Studies | Communication | Journalism Studies | Sociology

File Format

pdf

File Size

2800 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


Share

COinS