Date Me if You Can: A Systematic Overview of the Current Research into Online Dating.

Online dating has become a mass phenomenon, which is hardly surprising in view of the changing way of life resulting from the increased use of technology and limited time. The number of empirical studies on online dating has increased continuously since 1995. This paper summarizes the current state of research, focusing on essential research findings concerning seven main topics: Popular dating platforms and dating apps, typical user groups in online dating, platform selection, profile creation, choice of partner, online communication and outcome. The overall picture shows that online dating has become a common and a socially accepted way of initiating new contacts. However, the motivation behind online dating, as well as the manner and extent of utilization depend on age, sex, and life situation. This leads to different dating outcomes, but also to different risk potentials. Research gaps will be pointed out for the different topics.