How do Americans and Chinese in greater China living in the United States self-disclose in online dating profiles? A content analysis
Ruoxu Wang, Jin YangAbstract
Purpose
The goal of the study is to examine how Americans and Chinese in the United States self-disclose in online dating profiles. It also examines how men and women self-disclose in online dating profiles.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analysis of 400 online dating profiles was conducted.
Findings
Americans made more self-disclosure in family, social status, lifestyle, privacy, and the big five personality traits than Chinese living in the United States. Chinese living in the United States provided longer bios and uploaded more pictures compared to Americans. Lifestyle self-disclosure and privacy self-disclosure would vary by gender and culture. Bio tone would vary by gender and culture. On American online dating websites, people living in the South were more likely to do family self-disclosure compared to the other three regions. For Chinese American online dating websites, no such difference was found. Men made more general self-disclosure in social status and lifestyle compared to women. Women made higher family self-disclosure compared to men.
Practical implications
Online dating profiles could provide freeform and personality trait tests to help provide a better matching service.
Social implications
Future study could continue to compare how people from different cultures self-disclose in online dating platforms.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies which systematically analyze what type of information people self-disclosed on online dating profiles between Americans and Chinese in the United States.