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Mate selection among online daters in Shanghai: Why does education matter?
Chinese Journal of Sociology
|November 26, 2020
Summary
Online daters prioritize educational level and university prestige for mate selection. These preferences, influenced by cultural norms and gender roles, shape partner choices and may increase social exclusivity among educated individuals.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Cultural Studies
Background:
- Assortative mating research indicates educational homogamy, but the underlying motivations and mate selection processes remain underexplored, especially with the rise of online dating.
- Online dating platforms offer expanded choice, necessitating an examination of how individuals' educational preferences influence their navigation of these digital dating markets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate educational preferences among online daters.
- To understand how these educational preferences shape mate selection processes within the context of online dating in Shanghai.
Main Methods:
- Conducted in-depth interviews with 29 heterosexual, university-educated online daters in Shanghai (13 men, 16 women).
- Employed abductive and inductive coding strategies for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Educational level and university prestige emerged as key mate selection criteria.
- Both genders viewed educational matching as crucial for cultural compatibility; men additionally stressed spousal education for offspring's future.
- Participants strategically selected dating platforms and screened potential partners based on educational preferences, indicating active navigation of the dating market.
Conclusions:
- Emphasis on university prestige is linked to China's hierarchical higher education system.
- Gendered rationales for educational preferences are rooted in traditional Chinese gender roles.
- Individual preferences are significantly shaped by cultural norms and institutional structures, potentially reinforcing social closure among educational elites via online dating.
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