Document Types
Paper Presentation
School Name
De La Salle University Integrated School (Manila)
Research Advisor (Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial)
Domingo, Rosallia
Start Date
13-6-2024 10:30 AM
End Date
13-6-2024 12:00 PM
Abstract/Executive Summary
As online dating applications become increasingly popular for partner-searching, the level of control users have over their image to potential partners draws a parallel to commodities being advertised and sold in marketplaces. This resemblance brings Marxist principles like commodification and the use and exchange of values into play, providing a framework for exploring the ethics of online dating. The paper examines aspects of online dating, such as attraction and self-presentation, through critical discourse analysis (CDA) of relevant texts and literature to highlight themes of commodification and dehumanization. These patterns were connected to the paper’s claims that commodification does indeed occur between users of online dating applications, dehumanizing them and affecting the authenticity of the possible attraction between them. The paper concludes that, with self-presentation playing a significant role in attracting potential partners, authenticity and other qualities of romance previously constant in dating are put at risk of desensitization, perpetuating an entrepreneurial market of users commodifying both themselves and others.
Keywords
online dating; commodification; exchange value; attraction; self-presentation
Initial Consent for Publication
yes
Statement of Originality
yes
Window Shopping: A Philosophical Inquiry into Commodification in Online Dating
As online dating applications become increasingly popular for partner-searching, the level of control users have over their image to potential partners draws a parallel to commodities being advertised and sold in marketplaces. This resemblance brings Marxist principles like commodification and the use and exchange of values into play, providing a framework for exploring the ethics of online dating. The paper examines aspects of online dating, such as attraction and self-presentation, through critical discourse analysis (CDA) of relevant texts and literature to highlight themes of commodification and dehumanization. These patterns were connected to the paper’s claims that commodification does indeed occur between users of online dating applications, dehumanizing them and affecting the authenticity of the possible attraction between them. The paper concludes that, with self-presentation playing a significant role in attracting potential partners, authenticity and other qualities of romance previously constant in dating are put at risk of desensitization, perpetuating an entrepreneurial market of users commodifying both themselves and others.
