Dr. Yue Qian
Dr. Yue Qian’s new research finds that, in Canada, immigrants are more likely than Canadian-born persons to have used online dating services to search for romantic partners, but immigrant men experience the least success in finding a long-term partner online.
In her new article published in Internet Research, Dr. Qian took an intersectional lens to examine how nativity and gender shaped the experience of heterosexual online dating in Canada. Results show that immigrants are more likely than native-born people to have used online dating in Canada, possibly because international relocation makes it more difficult for immigrants to meet romantic partners in other ways. In online-to-offline transitions, both native-born and immigrant online daters follow gendered scripts where men ask women out for a first date. Finally, immigrant men, who likely have disadvantaged positions in offline dating markets, also experience the least success in finding a long-term partner online.
“While Canada’s settlement services focus on promoting the economic incorporation of immigrants, forming romantic relationships and intimate ties also have ramifications for the integration and well-being of immigrant adults,” Dr. Qian said. “Thus, governmental settlement programs should establish social service infrastructure to facilitate digital integration, community building, and relationship development among single immigrants.”
Qian, Yue. (2021), “Disruption or reproduction? Nativity, gender and online dating in Canada”, Internet Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-10-2020-0547
