LOOKING FOR LOVE: ONLINE PROFILE CONTENT OF OLDER AND YOUNGER GAY LESBIAN AND HETEROSEXUAL ADULTS

摘要

Research on romantic relationship formation has focused primarily on young, heterosexual adults. Of the limited research on dating in late life, even fewer studies address the dating motivations and preferences of older adults who identify as gay or lesbian. Nonetheless, adults of different ages and sexual orientations may have different motivations when seeking dating partners. These differences in motivation may be evident in their self-presentations on dating websites. Consistent with developmental theories, older adults may be more likely to emphasize existing ties with family and friends, while younger adults may emphasize themselves and their achievements. Additionally, heterosexual adults may be more focused on topics related to traditional mate value, such as occupation, while individuals seeking same-sex partners may be more likely to discuss sexuality and less likely to emphasize family relationships. The current study sampled 400 profiles from a popular dating website. Themes in these profiles were identified using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker, Booth & Francis, 2007). Regression analyses revealed that younger adults were more likely to mention the self, as evidenced by a greater proportion of first person singular pronouns (I, me) compared to older adults. However, older adults were not more likely to mention ties to friends and family. Further, heterosexual adults were not more likely to mention their occupations than gay or lesbian adults, but gay and lesbian adults were more likely to discuss sexuality in their profiles and less likely to mention family. Results are discussed in terms of evolutionary and developmental theories.