FILM260

1. Digital Love
and Deception
Visual anonymity provided by the internet increases the temptation to alter self-reported personal
information in order to seem more attractive, fostering unpredictability and distrust when meeting people
online.

2. Since its conception,
much research has been done to examine
the alienating nature of the internet.
One 1998 study reported that the more people used the Web,
the lonelier and more depressed they felt. [4]

3. Despite existing stigmas
and claims that technology
is driving us apart,
the internet is quickly
becoming
an accepted platform to find
love.

4. Today, nearly half of the public knows someone who uses online
dating or who has met a spouse or partner via online dating –
and attitudes toward online dating have grown progressively
more positive.[8]

5. Motivations for using online dating
out of 148 participants…
41% of survey respondents’ goal for online dating was dating or marriage
13% hoped to date and make friends
only around 1% sought casual sex in addition to friendship and/or dating
[1]

6. "An on-line profile is the equivalent
of a first date.Anyone who has been
on a first date will remember putting
their best foot forward.”
[6]

7. Interacting with a member of the opposite sex, particularly if
they are attractive, has been shown to increase motivation for
deceptive self-presentation. [3]

8. In a 2007 survey 81% of the online daters lied about
one or more of their physical attributes.
Woman tended to lie about their weight and men tended to lie about
their height. [6]
[6]

9. Personal information shared on dating sites is self-reported, so the use
of deception stems from the fact that visual anonymity provided by the
internet decreases accountability. [3]

10. People have learned the habit of cleaning up interactions. Online
identity creation lets us present the self we want to be - we can edit
or delete anything we want to change. [9]

11. There are cues in written interactions and shared
photographs that help us accurately judge another
person’s personality.
[2]

12. positive traits can be
faked or enchanted
while negative traits
can be hidden.
However,

13. Users find it hard
to trust carefully
crafted profile and
messages because
they are not
accurate
representations of
one’s true
personality.
[5]

14. A photo is
always worth
more than
words,
because all
that matters
(at least in the
beginning) is
how someone
looks.
[5]

15. Tinder launched in 2012

16. the app was created with the understanding that people make decisions based on looks
◦ generates 26 million matches per day
◦ 100 million downloads and 10 million daily users
[2]
[7]
[5]

17. People who are searching for a mate are aware of what is considered
attractive and evidence shows that they will alter their profiles to reflect
these characteristics.
[3]

18. In one study, it was found
that although people
frequently lied in their
online profiles, they
attempted to keep their
alterations within
believable parameters just
in case their online
interactions turned into a
face-to-face meeting.
[6]

19. In conclusion

20. Deception in online profiles is often expected, but it is best avoided
Honesty is the best policy

21. "A deceptive on-line profile
may attract a partner but once
the deception is discovered,
trust, disappointment, and
betrayal become the
centrepiece of the relationship
instead of excitement, hopes,
and dreams.” [6]

22. Works Cited
[1] Cobb, Camille, and Tadayoshi Kohno. "How Public Is My Private Life?" Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on World
Wide Web - WWW 17 (2017): n. pag. Web. 25 May 2017. <http://homes.cs.washington.edu/~yoshi/papers/online-dating-www2017.pdf>.
[2] Darbyshire, Demetria, et al. "Dont Judge a (Face)Book by its Cover: Exploring judgement accuracy of others personality on
Facebook." Computers in Human Behavior 58 (2016): 380-87. Web. 13 May 2017.
[3] Guadagno, Rosanna E., et al. "Dating deception: Gender, online dating, and exaggerated self-presentation." Computers in Human
Behavior 28.2 (2012): 642-47. Web. 23 May 2017. <http://ai2-s2-pdfs.s3.amazonaws.com/0b3c/
a535b2ca4bcb6506d8d579b61b70a41ac961.pdf>.
[4] Konnikova , Maria. "How Facebook Makes Us Unhappy." The New Yorker. N.p., 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 May 2017. <http://
www.newyorker.com.proxy.queensu.ca/tech/elements/how-facebook-makes-us-unhappy>.
[5] Matrix, Sidneyeve. "Module 02 Lecture FILM 260 Digital Relationships." Vimeo. N.p., May 2017. Web. 8 May 2017. <https://
vimeo.com/216528279>.
[6] Schafer, John. "Detecting Deception in Online Profiles." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 03 Nov. 2011. Web. 24 May 2017.
<https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201111/detecting-deception-in-online-profiles>.
[7] Sevi, Barış. "Exploring the hook-up app: Low sexual disgust and high sociosexuality predict motivation to use Tinder for casual
sex." Personality and Individual Differences (2017): n. pag. Research Gate. Web. 25 May 2017.
[8] Smith, Aaron, and Monica Anderson. "5 facts about online dating." Pew Research Center. N.p., 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 27 May 2017.
<http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/5-facts-about-online-dating/>.
[9] Turkle, Sherry. "The flight from conversation." The New York Times 22 Apr. 2012: n. pag. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 May 2017.