(11/06 23:39)
Undateable: Some Reflections on Online Dating and the Perversion of Time
Lucas Hilderbrand / University of California, Irvine
April 22, 2011 Lucas Hilderbrand / University of California, Irvine
Future
The marketed temporality of online dating is futurity: that, if a user
logs in, they will find a partner. The allure of online dating is the
belief in a structure of possibility: in this utopia (virtual
non-place), you will find the perfect match. Using interfaces of
self-representation and algorithms of compatibility, various sites
suggest that there is, at least in theory, someone for everyone and that
the most efficient way to meet is via database calculations. More than
once, I’ve been advised that the only way to meet people is to go
online. This mythical structure of possibility suggests that, if you
keep searching, you will find someone, but also that there might always
be a better match in the future. There’s an illusion of unlimited
options and a continued hope that new and better matches will come
online. Thus, there’s also a recurrent temptation for deferral.