Category: Social Media

Spending patterns: The missing link between advertisers and consumers

Woman in stylish glasses representing a social media influencer

By Carrissa Bruneau, crbruneau21-geemail com

So just how do marketing teams go about hiring an influencer? They must pick the person with the most followers, right? Wrong, there are many driving factors when regarding influencer sponsorship success. However, the one element advertisers need to seriously start looking for when hiring successful influencers is their ability to connect with varying consumers and their causes for spending. Understanding consumer spending is a key factor when determining which brands will sponsor an influencer. 

To better understand consumer spending, an online survey was taken of 938 U.S. residents. Farrell, Cambell, and Sands found that these were the six prominent types of consumers and their annual spending averages.  

  • Silent Follower (20%) Annual $9.98 – People who have social media accounts, but rarely engage with influencers. 
  • Spontaneous Entertainment-Driven (13%) Annual $14.41 – Motivated by entertainment but rarely purchase or seek deals from influencers  
  • Influencer Unengaged (11%) Annual $17.03 – Very rarely engage with influencers at all. 
  • Idea Seeker (32%) Annual $50.47 – Moderately engaged with influencers and are inspired to follow for entertainment and inspiration. 
  • Super Fan (7%) Annual $126.48 – Follow a high number of influencers based on entertainment and attractiveness. 
  • Entertainment-Driven Inspiration Seeker (17%) Annual $207.38 – Highly engaged and view influencer content regularly. Make purchases based on influencer trust. 

The low spenders considered lurkers follow influencers that provide quality content for entertainment purposes. They get targeted with more general ads because their lack of engagement makes them hard to track. They spend less because they are not the general target. Moderate to high spenders are looking for high entertainment and high inspirations. This could be content centered around home décor, self-care, fashion, etc. Although reasons for following influencers are more specific, the yield of purchases is higher because the influencers are more in tune with what their fanbase wants. 

For advertisers looking to hire influencers to sell their products, look at their fanbase. Find influencers that attract consumers with different motivations instead of ones that target all consumers. Different influencers can address the different motivations of the consumers listed. The marketers that can hire influencers who leverage deal seeking, entertainment, and inspiration as mechanisms for connecting with audiences will be better off. Influencers with smaller followings with high engagement note a higher degree of trust placed on influencer recommendations. Super fans were the lowest percent of individuals in the survey, but they make up one of the highest spending groups. 

Accounts with a smaller more loyal fanbase show an increase in parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships occur when the consumer feels emotionally connected to the creator. These relationships show an increase in purchase intentions and have a positive effect on consumerism. Attempting to target every demographic of consumer is not necessary if multiple influencers are selected to target specific loyal consumers.  

FARRELL, J. R., CAMPBELL, C., & SANDS, S. (2022). What Drives Consumers to Engage with Influencers? Segmenting Consumer Response to Influencers: Insights for Managing Social-Media Relationships. Journal of Advertising Research, 62(1), 35–48. https://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2137/10.2501/JAR-2021-017 

Image licensed by CC by 2.0 license, courtesy of www.songsimian.com

“Dear Black Men, It’s Okay Not to Be Okay…” 

By Brianna McMillan 

For Black men, speaking about poor mental health is seen as a sign of weakness, but celebrity and mass media discussions chip away at this harmful narrative.  

In this exploratory study, health communication researcher Diane Francis examined 1,482 tweets with the hashtag “#YouGoodMan” that arose as a result of Kid Cudi’s 2016 announcement on his depression diagnosis, which included having suicidal thoughts, and receiving treatment.  #YouGoodMan was created to check in on Black men and engage them in discussions about their mental health. This study asks the question, “What were Black men saying about their mental health in these conversations and what factors influenced them to speak up?” In these Twitter conversations, three main themes that the study emerged:  

  • Disclosure of mental health – Discussion of mental health conditions, diagnosis, medication, symptoms, and treatment. 
  • Supplying support online and offline –  
    • Emotional – Users showed large amounts of compassion and support toward Black men expressing their emotions and being vulnerable. 
    • Network – Discussion of how these men are not alone, community is accessible on Twitter. Users stressed how important it is to convey support to Black men seeking help and to fight to end the stigma surrounding this. 
    • Informational -Users provided information about mental health resources such as websites, crisis lines, text services, apps, social media platforms, therapy services, etc.  
  • Acknowledgement of cultural and societal impact 
    • Black men are raised to not express emotional vulnerability, vulnerability is seen as weakness. 
    • Many religious Black families believe prayer is all that is necessary, professional help is looked down upon. 
    • Rap and hip-hop artists are now more commonly talking about mental health issues in their music and are positively impacting Black men’s mental health.  

Pulling from theories that explain how substantial media coverage and celebrity influence on a topic causes discussions in online communities that influence attitudes towards the topic, Francis’ findings further support this evidence. Many celebrities have openly spoken about their mental health problems, but what differs with Kid Cudi’s disclosure is the extreme media coverage and hashtag that followed, which opened the conversation for Black men to speak on their mental health struggles in a safe, “judgment-free” space.  

Mass media coverage, combined with celebrity coverage on the topic of mental health, influences conversations online and can provide beneficial tools for seeking help. Young African Americans extensively use Twitter, so using culturally specific hashtags, such as #YouGoodMan, with the combination of ethnic celebrity influence is an effective way to engage young Black men in conversations about their mental health. Hip hop and rap have a large impact on the community of young African American men. This information indicates that rap could be a culturally effective way to start conversations about mental health in the Black community. By adding more content surrounding mental health into lyrics, rap artists can play a large role in starting individual and community wide conversations, which can help to change societal beliefs and stigmas surrounding Black men and mental health.  

Francis, D. B. (2021). “Twitter is Really Therapeutic at Times”: Examination of Black Men’s Twitter Conversations Following Hip-Hop Artist Kid Cudi’s Depression Disclosure. Health Communication, 36(4), 448–456.

How Effective Is Online Support?

By Holly Slocum

Each year, more than 7.5 million people turn to online communities for social support. As online communication is more commonly utilized, it’s become critical to understand how the medium can affect the outcome of supportive interactions.

Rains and colleagues aimed to answer 3 basic questions about online social support:

–              How does the medium affect the support interaction? Participants were asked to consider their level of uncertainty, worry, and self-efficacy after receiving support.

–              How does the medium affect the participants’ perception of the support giver? Participants were asked to consider how knowledgeable, caring, and likeable they found the support giver.

–              And how does the message type- whether it’s information-based or emotional support- affect the support interaction?

Group of four friends posing for a picture on a cloudy day shot from the back
“friendship – IMG_3604” by Nicola since 1972 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

To help answer these questions, 82 university students were asked how prepared they felt for finding a job after graduation, then given supportive advice. Half of the participants received support online, while the other half received support face-to-face. To ensure it was the medium being effectively tested, the support message was the same in online interactions as it was face-to-face. Similarly, half of the participants were given information-based support, while the other half received emotional support.

Consistent with the well-known (yet mostly disputed) “cues-filtered-out” theory (reduced cues lead to more impersonal communication), people who received online support found that they had both a greater sense of uncertainty and worry than those who received face-to-face support. Interestingly, however, there was no difference in feelings of self-efficacy between the two groups. Despite feeling more worried after receiving online support, students felt no less capable of success.

Also interesting is that, regardless of whether it was online or face-to-face, there was no change in how knowledgeable, caring, or likeable the participants thought the support givers were. As future researchers continue to explore why online support may be less effective, this helps illustrate that the obstacles lie with the interaction itself, and not with the person providing the support.

As for the message types, researchers found that information-based messages resulted in participants feeling somewhat less uncertain and more comfortable with that uncertainty. However, the difference was minimal, and there was also no other meaningful change in how the participants felt about the interaction or the support giver.

Although the results of the study seem to be bad news for online social support, there are several considerations that should be made. Recent research shows online communication increases the user’s self-awareness, which could lead to a greater focus on one’s emotions- as well as what is causing their stress. This could explain students feeling a heightened sense of uncertainty and worry about finding a job, without feeling any less capable of it accomplishing it. Another possibility is that, with reduced social cues online, participants had more room to ruminate on their stress. Rumination has been linked to both uncertainty and worry in recent studies, as well. Other limitations could include the scripted nature of the support messages, the limited duration of the interaction, and the relatively small sample size of the group.

With an increasing number of people seeking support online, being able to provide more effective interactions is crucial. While online support may not up to par with face-to-face interactions yet, it’s worth nothing that it isn’t harmful either. No results demonstrated that online support was ineffective… only that it was less effective. This presents a tremendous area of opportunity to explore how people adapt to reduced social cues and to better understand how to improve online support interactions.

Rains, S. A., Brunner, S. R., Akers, C., Pavlich, C. A., & Goktas, S. (2016). Computer-mediated communication (CMC) and social support. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 34(8), 1186-1205. doi:10.1177/0265407516670533

Hidden Privileges in Social Media

By Kara Klaus, @karaklaus

Black and white image of people in suits behind a University door.
Picture by by Trojan_Llama. Image is licensed under CC.

In the 21st century people use social media daily. People post about their new lover or a beautiful location without a second thought, but what if they worried about posting a picture of food because it’s not one widely recognized in America? This is the reality for most underrepresented youth in America.  

The 25 participants aged 18 and over identified as low income, and as part of one or more historically underrepresented groups. Once selected, the participants completed an hour-long interview where each youth answered a series of questions which aided in the researcher’s understanding of their perception of social media.  

When asked to envision the demographics of those who design their favorite social media platform, without fail the youth described them as predominately younger white males who received a higher education, specifically in a STEM-based major. Few, if any, could picture people of color, or even females in that line of work. Based on the 2018 United States Department of Labor statistics, they assumed correctly. 

Next, the researchers asked the youth about the negative aspects of social media as it pertains to their demographic. Youth like “David” felt as though he could only post things that represented American norms; to him, a post about a Latino holiday he celebrated would not get the positive reactions an American holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas would receive. Some of the participants believed they would be ridiculed for posting about their culture. Most felt it best to adhere strictly to norms widely accepted on social media platforms.  

Participants additionally brought attention to the idealistic life portrayed on many Instagram accounts and the pressure to fit into that mold. “Maristela” said that she posted pictures of herself living a lifestyle of travel and comfort, when in reality she struggled with many financial burdens. Most youth in the study also expressed that they believed their low-income status negatively impacted their followers and likes.  

While negative impacts of social media do exist, the participants in the study felt as though these platforms gave them three important positive things. Social media provides them representation, a space to share their voice, and a place to create connections. For example, the #blackLGBTQ hashtag helps promote the ideas of individuals in support of this cause as well as allowing people to find and create new connections.  

While underrepresented youth expressed both positive and negative aspects of social media, we need to continue to work on making online platforms a more inclusive and welcoming space for people of all demographics. A place to start is by following someone with whom you may have differences, not to incite any negativity, but to gain new perspectives and ideas. Further, perhaps we can take steps on our own social spaces to advocate for those underrepresented groups who deserve to have their voices heard. 

Brough, M., Literat, I., & Ikin, A. (2020). “Good Social Media?”: Underrepresented Youth Perspectives on the Ethical and Equitable Design of Social Media Platforms. Social Media + Society,6(2), 1-11. doi:10.1177/2056305120928488 

Instagram Connections: Radio Behind the Scenes

By Shana Penta, @whoisshanapenta | email: shana.penta *** g )(mail.com

Instagram is now considered the most personal form of connecting on social media. How then does radio make use of Instagram to take a listener behind the scenes?

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“Sangean PR-D6” by CapCase is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The use of Instagram has allowed radio stations to get closer to listeners, effectively “taking the listener backstage.” This type of informal promotion and continual branding affords both listeners and stations alike the opportunity of being part of a shared community.

Ferguson and Greer used semiotics to determine how radio stations portray themselves. In this case, semiotics can be defined as the attribution of meaning to signs. Semiotics range from words to visuals, and object to actions, various signs included are words, film, clothing, sounds, emoticons, and the proximity of individuals.  

Using radiostationworld.com, researchers Ferguson and Greer created a list of radio stations. The radio station web sites were then accessed, and they verified Instagram accounts. Ferguson and Green indexed 561 stations after collecting then through a Firefox plugin, Grab Them All.

Their method involved a constant comparative technique, leading Ferguson and Greer to discover two dominant themes:

  1. Station Promotion
    1. Promotion of Contests
    1. Local Events
    1. Station Personnel (local celebrities)
  2. Visuals of the Station’s Community
    1. Images of local people at events
    1. Contest winners
    1. Employees with community members

The recurring subject for the themes mentioned above was that content posted typically featured people smiling and having a good time. The radio stations use of Instagram was portraying personal connections. The radio stations used semiotics to convey that they are fun, inclusive and just regular guys within their respective communities.

So how does a radio station take something that has always been an auditory medium and turn it into something visual? Post on social media channels and if you’re wanting a personal, more imitate audience, use Instagram.

Stations are able to give listeners a glimpse of their world while continuing to promote their brand and sponsor contests and special events through social media posts. Through semiotics, Ferguson and Greer were able to determine a more personal approach is available via Instagram.  

Ferguson, D. A., & Greer, C. F. (2018). Visualizing a Non-Visual Medium through Social Media: The Semiotics of Radio Station Posts on Instagram. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 126-141.

How Social Media Engagement Affects Sales

By Guest Author Annie Hoch-South

Through social media, the average consumer has the ability to engage with a company firsthand, something unheard of just a few decades ago. How can companies and businesses use this to their advantage, in the new digital age?

Yoon et al. (2018) looked at the power of user engagement, a tool akin to a double-edged sword. Researchers examined a complete list of the social media and financial data of The Standard & Poor’s 500, an American stock market index of 500 large companies, which was organized using the companies’ Facebook posts from the first quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2015. Business revenue was measured each quarter and analyzed. Three hundred and forty-six companies (out of 500) used Facebook at the time of their study. Only 339 companies allowed researchers access and were active enough in their postings. By using data-mining techniques, researchers were able to examine people’s online behaviors and interactions to derive a sense of users’ engagement.

By examining the quality and quantity of consumer comments on Facebook, they found that active engagement (going beyond just hitting the “Like” or “Share” buttons) made consumers more likely to become emotionally and mentally invested in a company. By commenting, users were giving public feedback. More positive comments led to greater revenue, as did larger quantities of comments. Therefore, generating more comments generates buzz, which in turn creates profit and establishes a relationship between consumer and company.

Consumers have the power to interact with companies on a very personal level via instant messaging. Users can post their feedback, both positive and negative, directly in the public comment feed for all to see. People will take that company’s impressions with them offline and continue to shape the behavior of those around and in their social circles. In those social circles, people value acceptance amongst peers and accurate judgements of products, companies, and brands. People notice how other people behave online and follow suit. With more than 50% of social media users engaging with some brand or company and 71% of Internet users using Facebook (as cited in Gunwoo et al., 2018), it would be wise to create a marketing plan that is dedicated to increasing positive engagement and active behaviors. To become active, a company or business must be dynamic and continue to share socially. Be proactive!

Yoon, G., Li, C., Ji, Y., North, M., Hong, C., & Liu, J. (2018). Attracting comments: Digital engagement metrics on Facebook and financial performance. Journal of Advertising, 47(1), 24-37. doi:10.1080/00913367.2017.1405753

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Youth, sexuality, and social media

By Guest Author Kaitlin Slorey: kslorey {} yahoo.com

As with many things young people use social media for, making sense of sexuality is one of the most important and life-affecting.

It holds, then, that as a society, we need to better understand how rapidly social media technologies are transforming, and how this could overwhelm our youth. Youth face a continuous struggle of contradicting beliefs regarding sexual values and norms. Deciding which behaviors on social media should be supported or disciplined puts forth an unclear sense of “controlled freedom” for youth interacting on social media.

“a Wave of Social media” by winxEsther, licensed under CC BY-ND 3.0

Before social media, there were (and still are) beliefs that sexuality is something to be thought of as harmful to our youth, and thus has caused over-protection from sexual knowledge and openness. However, with highly sexualized popular media, these messages are nearly impossible to avoid.

When young people encounter sexual material in the media, they express moral concerns about such content, while equally valuing it as a source of information and learning.

Although young people seem more open-minded about sexuality than previous generations, Ridder suggests that they enforce stricter self-guiding morals on themselves.

Because of fast-paced changes in this digital age, this leaves little to no room for questioning or negotiating the behaviors that sexuality and social media bring about. We need to consider social media’s material as well as each platform’s important functions (particularly Tinder and Snapchat).

The results were based on 14 focus groups of Dutch-speaking youth in Belgium, including 89 participants from diverse backgrounds (52 girls and 37 boys), between the age of 14 and 19. The first 8 focus groups were conducted in 2012, and the last 6 took place in 2015. In doing so, the research was purposeful within the rapidly evolving culture of social media.

Discussion topics included displaying sexual identity, relationship status, exploring and experimenting with sexual desires through texts (status updates, hashtags, etc.), pictures (from profile pictures to selfies and snaps, etc.), and communicative interactions (chatting, commenting, texting, etc.). As opposed to direct experiences of the participants, this emphasized knowledge about values, and exploring the struggles youth face in a sexual culture in relation to social media.

Ridder noted, “When I asked young people about everyday intimate and sexual practices on social media, they usually talked about related risks and how to avoid them. Whether we talked about a relationship status on Facebook, posting or sending sexy pictures, looking for dates, or sending sexual messages, they found it smart to see sexuality as mostly private matters intended for outside of social media.”

Managing an online reputation and social media use, while balancing ambiguous social norms, was seen as a personal task where the individual is in charge of making these moral decisions. There is not one single way to understand what “good” sexual practices in social media are, but rather is heavily influenced by peer control.

Defining what is too private or what is unacceptable to share online was difficult for the participants to distinguish, but was commonly motivated by these individual moral judgments.

It was common for participants to distance themselves from their peers who behaved in a risky or inappropriate way. Whether talking about sexy pictures, messages, or dating, many of them acknowledged these kinds of behaviors causally, but the moral distancing played out as a way to respond to it in a competitive manner.

Final Thoughts

Competitive value judgments between the different focus groups may suggest a new sense of conservatism in young people’s knowledge on what’s considered “good” sexual values online. This conservatism is a way of dealing with the complexity of both perceived and real online risks in rapidly transforming social media. Relying on traditional values may be comfortable for youth, or makes this mindset of individuality a “smart” choice.

Ridder suggests society should start to engage with young people’s social media lives, interrogating what people hold as normal, natural, and healthy. Addressing the current conflicts about sexuality in the context of social media can further involve how to deal with social media overload, overlaid with issues of how society feels about sexuality and young people.

Ridder, S. D. (2017). Social Media and Young People’s Sexualities: Values, Norms, and Battlegrounds. Social Media + Society, 3(4), 1-11. doi:10.1177/2056305117738992

Regretting that time I posted to Doritos’ Facebook page

By Guest Author AJ Schock, adrianne.schock found on wsu.edu

I am certain that everyone has posted something online that they regret. Statistics have shown that 11-46% of adolescents have reported experiencing online regret after sharing content on the Internet.

In the article about online regret, Dhir et al. focused on two main research topics. First, they examined the relationship between Social Networking Sites’ (SNS) brand participation, technology accessibility, and the regret experience and problematic use of Facebook. The second involved the relative influence of SNS’ brand participation, technology accessibility, and the problematic use of Facebook in predicting regrettable online experiences.

In four different cities in Northern India, 804 adolescent (aged 13 to 14 years old) Facebook users were given a pencil-and-paper survey in class on four separate concepts:

  1. Online regret: Did the student feel sad after spending an immense amount of time on Facebook? Was their schoolwork affected by their time spent on Facebook? The students’ answers were measured on a 5-point scale with ‘1’ being strongly disagree and ‘5’ being strongly agree
  2. SNS brand participation: Did the student feel that by participating in discussions on Facebook, brand pages gave them a sense of belonging to said brands? The students’ answers were measured on a 5-point scale with ‘1’ being strongly disagree and ‘5’ being strongly agree.
  3. Technology accessibility: Students reported how they accessed Facebook by answering whether or not they owned a cell phone, had a mobile Internet connection and an Internet connection at home. This measure also dealt with the frequency and excessive use of Facebook.
  4. Problematic Facebook use: Students reported their self-reflections of their own problematic Facebook use, their teachers, parents, and friends’ thoughts about the student’s problematic Facebook use, and conflicts with their parents and friends due to their problematic Facebook use. The students’ answers were measured as unproblematic, low problem level, medium problem level, and high problem level.

Dhir and colleagues found that students with and without home and mobile Internet had the same amount of regrettable online experiences while students with cell phones experienced higher online regret than those without. They determined adolescent brand participation results in online regret. The authors suggested that a possible reason for this is that adolescents are currently captivated with popular brands.  An internal need exists for adolescents to connect with these brands by following the brands on Facebook or participating in a discussion on these pages.

Why would research on brands and regrettable online experiences be important? Branded pages on Facebook face two major problems: retaining existing members and initiating the active participation of community members. Regrettable online experiences lead to brand switching and the termination of services. Managers and administrators of these branded pages should explore different ideas to provide their community members with ways to actively participate without experiencing online regret. Active participation would lead to better ways to retrieve feedback and opinions from users while minimizing the regrettable experience.

Dhir, A., Kaur, P., Chen, S., & Lonka, K. (2016). Understanding online regret experience in Facebook use – Effects of brand participation, accessibility & problematic use. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 420-430. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.040

Social Media as a Tool for Outreach Activities and Inclusion

By Guest Author Alyssa Korinke

Libraries have long been a space for learning and growth. In fact, social inclusion and outreach activities are considered to be the primary goal of public library services around the world. Technological advancements and Social Networking Services/Sites (SNSs) are offering new opportunities to meet these goals. While relationship building and communication opportunities through SNSs can offer promise, they can also present a dilemma. How do libraries harness these methods to further outreach and inclusion practices?

 

3856030497_a2d2764f7c_zAbdullah, Chu, Rajagopal, Tung, and Kwong-Man sent 110 surveys to libraries around the world that indicated ongoing use of social media tools on their websites. 28 responses (25%) were received and analyzed. Of those 28 responses, 68% were academic libraries and the remaining 32% were public. Respondents were primarily categorized as Chinese speaking (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) or non-Chinese speaking (Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, UK, USA). One member of each library was asked to answer a series of research questions to discover current social media practices, as well as to learn more about how these tools were working in outreach and inclusion activities.

 

Through the surveys and additional research, Abdullah and colleagues learned that the majority of responding libraries (22 of 28) were using two or more social media tools for a period of four years or more. The primary use for these social tools was simply to reach a broader audience for existing programs and services rather than building new programs around evolving SNSs. Current library staff often felt ill equipped to roll out new social media tactics or platforms, and just one respondent had implemented a social media plan.

 

One of the biggest barriers to more in-depth use of social tools was staffing. Many of the respondent libraries cited low staffing and lack of training as reasons they were not better utilizing the tools. SNSs and social media evolves at a rapid rate and as our world becomes more dependent on virtual communication, engaging digital natives becomes critical to outreach activities. These tools would be best deployed alongside continuing training and mentorship, where there is an adequate staff to maintain feeds and posting schedules. This article had a small sample size, which limits generalization.In summary, social media programs remain a need for libraries, and should be implemented with policies in place, and training scheduled for library staff.

 

Abdullah, N., Chu, S., Rajagopal, S., Tung, A., & Yeung, K. (2015). Exploring Libraries’ Efforts in Inclusion and Outreach Activities Using Social Media. International Journal Of Libraries & Information Services, 65(1), 34-47. doi:10.1515/libri-2014-0055

 

Deception in online dating

By Guest Writer Christina Arnold

Manti Te'o on sideline
Manti Te’o

On the internet, it’s easy to create an online persona that radically differs from your offline self.  When it comes to online dating, it seems even more likely that people will be deceptive about their true selves in an effort to get a date.  But are there certain attributes that make it likely that someone will exaggerate about themselves?  And how much will someone lie to score a date?

In the article “Strategic misrepresentation in online dating: The effects of gender, self-monitoring, and personality traits”, researchers examined what factors make it more likely that a person will misrepresent themselves to a potential online date.

The user of an online dating service is able to customize their profile to exactly how they want it, which may make it more likely that they  will misrepresent themselves to appear better to a potential suitor—especially because of the high amount of competition that can be found on these sites.  However, since online dating sites usually encourage face-to-face meetings early on, most users are discouraged from any blatant deception about themselves.  The anticipation of a face-to-face meeting, along with the knowledge that your profile can be saved or printed out and looked at later, helps to stop any obvious misrepresentation since it would easily (and quickly) be found out.  Because of this, any misrepresentation is usually small, and is usually explained away by the user as their desirable (and potential) ‘future self’ (for example, their ‘future self’ may be thinner or more fit than their current self).

The authors looked to evidence in Evolutionary Psychology to create hypotheses that could help predict what could lead to deception in online dating.  Evolutionary Psychology suggests that women are more likely to look for men that have more resources and are committed for the long-term.  Both of these traits show that the man is willing and able to take care of any future offspring in the long-term.  Men, on the other hand, look for women who show signs of fertility (e.g., whether they’re young and healthy).

From the surveys, the authors found that men were more inclined to lie about their personal assets (i.e., resources), personal interests, and personal attributes than women were.  Women, on average, misrepresented their weight to a higher degree while men were more likely to lie about their age (it’s safe to say that the older a man is, the more likely he is to be more financially stable and have more resources).  However, older women  tended to misrepresent their age more—which goes back, again, to the Evolutionary Psychology theory that men look for signs of fertility (like youth).  Men were also more likely to lie about characteristics that signaled they were interested in long-term relationships.

The authors also discussed the “Big 5 personality traits” that might help predict deception—neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness.  They found that extroverts lied about past relationships more (because they were more likely to have a variety of sexual encounters), but misrepresented their personal interests less.  People low in conscientiousness misrepresented more because they didn’t have a strong concern for future consequences, and those who were less open to new experiences were more likely to misrepresent themselves to look like they were more interesting.

So while, yes, there is a likelihood that a person will lie about themselves to some degree on a site, I don’t think it should turn anyone away from online dating.  Any lies that you’re told can usually be discovered upon your first face-to-face meeting with this person.

Hall, Jeffrey A., Namkee Park, Hayeon Song, and Michael J. Cody (2010). “Strategic Misrepresentation in Online Dating: The Effects of Gender, Self-monitoring, and Personality Traits.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27,: 117-35.