Chemistry.com Process_text (version 1)

Online dating, in the form of chat rooms and online forums, saw its beginnings in the popularization of the internet. The absence of spatial boundaries provided online shatters the physical and social constructs inherent in day to day life, instantly widening one’s networking prospects. The dating website phenomenon of the early 2000’s arrived as a reaction to the complete open nature of romantic networking online, seeking to define the community and to provide a more controlled zone of social interaction.

Of the plethora of online dating networks offered, Chemistry.com separates itself from the masses utilizing a scientific approach in the formation of relationships. The matching algorithm used on the site is based on a 83-question personality test developed by the biological anthropologist, Helen Fisher. This test determines which hormones (dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, estrogen) dominate an individual’s personality. Each candidate is there-on identified by a personality-subpersonality type (a dominant-recessive pairing of 2 of the 4 types: Explorer, Builder, Director, Negotiator) determining his/her interactions on the site and narrowing down the field of prospects.

The breakdown of the Chemistry.com candidates into 12 sersonality-subpersonality pairs initiates the algorithmic matching matrix. Although each type has an idealized chemical match, the matrix takes into consideration certain fallabilities inherent in the test (i.e. the misreading of a question, impulsive answers not representative of one's true psyche, etc.) as well as the biological means of attraction that extend beyond those determined in the questionnaire. The insertion of candidate specific matching criteria significantly narrows the margin of prospects, thus prohibiting the idealized chemical model from being the exclusive mode of determining matches. Thus, the algorithm produces output that most adequately fits both the personality-subpersonality category and matching criteria of the candidate: ideal matches, dominant personality matches, subpersonality matches as well as dominant personality and subpersonality matches.

The process of match interaction of Chemistry.com operates according to a tightly controlled positive/negative feedback loop. Initial access to a profile is given to each candidate. Approval from both match candidates is needed to progress to the next step of interaction: a series of questions titled “Relationship Essentials.” Again reciprocal positive feedback is needed to progress to the “Short Answer” phase as well as after the unstructured interface through the Chemistry.com e-mail system. Mutual interest results in the arrangement of an in-person meeting, after which feedback is given. From there-on the website no longer controls the interaction of the pair. Each member of the Chemistry.com is at any one moment in time moving through this process with multiple match candidates.

In essence, Chemistry.com acts as an intermediary throughout the 5-step process, alleviating the awkwardness of face-to-face meeting. The user is shielded from the direct pain of rejection and empowered to act outside of his/her social conscience within the bounds of the web interface. Despite the prominence of the online dating world, there still exists social stigma against the necessitation of an intermediary in forming relationships. This notion begs to question whether the dating website will become the dominant form of relationship networking in the future, or whether this trend will fade in favor of the traditional means of dating.