Crossing the Line Online: Racial Preference of Internet Daters

Abstract

The use of the Internet has transformed the way singles date and how families are formed. Frequencies and multinomial logistic regression in this exploratory study reveal that although some singles are willing to date a person of any race, they are more likely to prefer to date someone of their same race. Dominant racial norms remain prevalent even when structural barriers of contact are reduced. This study demonstrates how use of the Internet provides unique data on actual dating preferences and illustrates the continued importance of race in partner selection. Additional research should expand on this study and the use of Internet dating sites as sources of data to continue to examine partner preferences and how technology influences partner selection.

KEYWORDS:

• contact
• dating
• internet
• interracial
• partner preference
• race
• racial ideology

Notes

A breakdown of income is not included because 64% of Black women, 53% of Black men, 54% of White women, and 44% of White men did not answer the question about income.

Compared with willingness to date a White person.

***p < .001.