Love language: dating app biographies as indicator for mate choice criteria

Abstract

Studies into the history of mate search show that important mate choice criteria vary through time, influenced by societal circumstances, whereas others seem to remain constant. Nowadays, online dating has become one of the most popularways to meet a partner, which changed the mate selection process because this computer-mediated communication facilitates selective self-presentation. Biographies of dating app profiles are space limited and often selfwritten, providing insight in what users find crucial to mention about themselves and their wishes for a future partner. Here we collected 300 biographies from three online dating platforms and coded them on four content themes: dating intention, personality and appearance of self vs. potential partner, and lifestyle.We present a preliminary comparison of these mate choice criteria between gender and age.