Not long after, in 2004, OkCupid began offering algorithmic matching alongside the basic search functionality that users had come to expect from earlier sites. The combination of searching and matching on OkCupid meant the algorithm functioned as more of a decision aid by empowering users to seek out potential partners for themselves while also offering suggestions to narrow the field (Tong et al., 2016). OkCupid’s algorithm used “match percentages” to assess compatibility based on https://datingranking.net/es/citas-trans/ how users answered questions and how they wanted potential partners to answer, and then it weighted each question by its reported level of importance (i.e., “irrelevant,” “a little,” “somewhat,” “very”; Rudder, 2013). The data came from an assortment of questions (e.g., “Are you afraid of death?” “Would you date someone who keeps a gun in the house?”), including those unlikely to be found on a scientific questionnaire (e.g., “Do you believe in dinosaurs?” “Is astrological sign at all important in a match?”; Cooper, 2017). By assuming the answers to some questions were more important than others, OkCupid gave users control over the matching process and the ability to provide input into how their data were used by the site’s algorithm.
The problem with these early matching systems is that they assumed users knew precisely what they desired in a partner. However, people’s stated preferences for an ideal mate do not always align with what they find attractive in person (Eastwick Finkel, 2008). g., height, income) that are poor indicators of what it will be like to interact with someone in the flesh (Frost et al., 2008). , 2021).
“It’s scary to know how much it’ll affect people. I try to ignore some of it, or I’ll go insane. We’re getting to the point where we have a social responsibility to the world because we have this power to influence it.” –Jonathan Badeen, Tinder 2