4.3C Technology and relationships: social media, polarization and cyberbullying

Key Ideas

Dating Apps

1. An example of technology and human relationships is the existence of dating apps.
2. 3 in 10 Americans have used a dating app, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

Artificial Intelligence

1. More and more people are incorporating AI into the dating app experience, for example, to formulate the first message to a potential match.
2. AI may not be very good at sensitive communication texts, but it can help make sense of a break up and come up the right way to communicate a boundary.
3. According to Wu & Kelly (2020), when AI was used in a dating profile, it did not influence ratings of attractiveness but decreased ratings of trust.

Link to Concepts

1. Responsibility: Investing relationships is incredibly personal and may be distressing to share, so researchers should ensure participants are not unnecessarily stressed.
2. Change: Technology is changing how we engage in relationships, so the aims of studies need to change to adapt to the ever-evolving world.