Various Orientations toward Marriage Dating Websites

علوم اجتماعی دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد

Article 5, Volume 13, Issue 1 - Serial Number 27, September 2016, Pages 149-170   

Document Type: Scientific-Research

DOI: 10.22067/jss.v13i1.46110

Authors

farnaz sobhani^* ; Hossein Behravan; Mohsen Noghani Dokht Bahmani

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Abstract

Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
With the spread of the Internet in different societies, marriage dating websites have been widely welcomed. As disclosed in a report from the deputy of Sport and Youth Ministry, 300 marriage dating websites are not active, none of which are approved by law enforcement and the government. He has mentioned that three years ago, the number of such websites was between 100 and 120, yet this number has grown threefold. They have managed to take the attention of many young people, yet they have no liability with respect to the infringements.
Although this method of marriage dating websites could lead to the ease of marriage, it can have certain damages such as lack of training, low supervision, instability of relationships in the virtual world and the lack of consultation. Many of such websites are a place for making friends and seeking illicit relationships. Some make millions from selling and buying the private information of different people. In some cases, the account details were checked by court order, and the result indicated 11-digit sums of money being transferred. For example, daily transfer of one of such websites included 12 million Tomans . Despite many problems such websites have for their users, debates still remain on why they are so popular? This article aims to provide answer for this question and analyze the negative and positive attitudes toward such websites.
2. Theoretical Framework
Positive individualism has a relationship with the freedom from social constraints and cruel conditions. Negative individualism leads to separation from others and the lack of responsibility toward partners (Wagner, 1986).
According to rational decision theory, men are national and their reaction comes into play under certain circumstances according to an understanding of the most efficient instruments of goal fulfillment (Wallace & Wolf, 1999, p. 294).
Louise Worth explains that spatial separations in urban environment have weakened the neighbor relationships (Tankis, 2011, p. 25). Egboneh (2001, p. 239) believes that empowerment is the more access of women on their lives and resources. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, after satisfying a level of needs, the needs of the other levels become important (Mendoza, 1995, p. 156).
From Giddens' point of view, the need to trust is associated with the distance of time and space relationships (Ritzer, 1999, p. 768).
Durkheim states that under stable social condition, human wishes become constrained and modified via norms. When norms are disestablished, anomie is born. Since big and wild wishes cannot be saturated, social discontent emerges as a result of negative social actions (RafiPoor, 1999, p. 18).
3. Method
Given the type and nature of the research question, qualitative content analysis was adopted with a comparative approach. The reason for such choosing was the existence of many viewpoints regarding the topic. However, this does not mean that our research was quantitative since the role of theory here was only to direct the process of studying in a more structured manner. By extracting relevant categories from theories and empirical backgrounds and providing operational definition for these categories, the notes of the users of two highly popular websites, "The Best Spouse" and "Two Confidant" , were encoded, and each note was put under the relevant category. The results of encoding were then analyzed.
The research validity was checked with respect to form and theory. The results were in line with the theories. The reliability of the research was checked after repeating the encoding of the categories by the author and his two friends who were expert in content analysis. The encoding was repeated and compared, finally there was unity if their findings.
4. Findings
The results showed that the most important factors associated with membership in marriage dating sites are gaining independence in spouse selection, lack of commitment and parental choice of spouse for their children, marriage greater advantages than traditional dating sites, limitation of people's relationships metropolises, violation of sexism, meeting individual needs, communication problems in the real world, being divorced, being physically disabled, aging, exogamy, discrimination and prejudice. On the other hand factors such as negative attitudes toward dating sites, lack of supervision, lack of trust in virtual space were important factors in the lack of interest in such websites.
5. Conclusion and Discussion
On the one hand, there are certain gaps in societies that make the grounds for migration of people to such websites, and on the other hand, as societies develop, the role of such websites become more important in finding a spouse. Therefore, there is an urgent need for proper management of this environment. Furthermore, the constant teaching of parents via public media and providing a proper economic means for marriage should be enforced. Designing training programs for explaining the experience of victims together with careful monitoring on the part of relevant centers and governmental organs are necessary in order to prevent violations.The designing of websites should be in line with Iranian-Islamic norms and culture and should not blindly follow the western traditions. Marriage dating websites should be viewed as an introductory phase in marriage, a stage that should be accompanied with parents and advisors. People's interests and independence should be taken into account in marriage, and forced marriages should not be the case anymore.

Keywords

Marriage dating websites; Qualitative content analysis; Rational Choice; Anonymity

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