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Older Adults' Online Dating Profiles and Successful Aging
Mineko Wada1, William Bennett Mortenson2, Laura Hurd Clarke3
1Gerontology Research Centre,Simon Fraser University.
Canadian Journal on Aging = La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement
|October 25, 2016
Summary
Older adults seeking partners online rarely emphasize low disease or high functioning. However, many highlight active engagement, suggesting successful aging criteria may not align with dating goals.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Sociology
- Digital Health
Background:
- Successful aging is often defined by Rowe and Kahn's criteria: absence of disease/disability, high physical/cognitive functioning, and active engagement.
- The applicability of these criteria to older adults' self-perceptions, particularly in social contexts like online dating, remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the relevance of Rowe and Kahn's successful aging criteria in older adults' self-portrayals within online dating profiles.
- To investigate demographic predictors (age, gender, race/ethnicity) of self-presentation related to successful aging in this context.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study analyzing 320 randomly selected online dating profiles of older adults.
- Profiles were coded for the presence of Rowe and Kahn's three criteria: low disease/disability, high functioning, and active engagement.
- Logistic regression analyses were employed to examine demographic influences on self-presentation.
Main Results:
- Few profiles met the first two criteria (low disease/disability, high functioning), while the third (active engagement) was common.
- Native Americans were less likely than other groups to present the first two criteria.
- Younger age predicted the presentation of the low disease/disability criterion; women consistently presented active engagement across age groups.
Conclusions:
- Rowe and Kahn's successful aging criteria may hold limited importance for older adults when constructing online dating profiles.
- The findings could indicate that these criteria are less relevant for partner selection or reflect the narrow definition of successful aging.
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