Project Overview
When talking about settlement and integration, we often focus on helping immigrants get jobs, but what about their needs for love and companionship? Forming a satisfying intimate relationship benefits immigrants’ mental and physical health, sense of belonging, and social integration in the host society. As digital technologies penetrate people’s lives, online dating has become a primary way couples meet. This project will collect original data from a large-scale national survey to investigate the use and implications of online dating in Canada, with a focus on the immigrant-native born comparison.
Research Questions
- Has online dating precipitated a “dating apocalypse” characterized by diminished relationship quality, as feared by the public?
- Has online dating become more popular, compared with pre-pandemic?
- As online dating is particularly effective in bringing same-sex couples together, is this benefit of dating technologies reaped by both foreign-born and Canadian-born sexual minorities?
Methods
- Statistical Analysis
- Surveys
Collaborators
UBC Centre for Migration Studies
- Principal Investigator: Yue Qian (Associate Professor, Sociology)
- Sean Lauer (Professor, Sociology)
Outputs
Publications
Cai M, Qian Y, Hu Y. The efficiency paradox: A temporal lens into online dating among Chinese immigrants in Canada. J Soc Pers Relat. 2025 Aug;42(8):2167-2187. doi: 10.1177/02654075251339257. Epub 2025 Apr 28. PMID: 40538890; PMCID: PMC12176279.
Media Coverage
Rolfsen, Erik. “Dating in the digital age: How online dating changes our partner selection.” UBC News, February 12, 2024, https://news.ubc.ca/2024/02/online-dating-partner-selection/
“‘Efficiency Trap’: Can online blind dating help users find a partner quickly?” WeChat, June 3, 2025, https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/jf7XSzGIw3W_wwiIzMn6cA
Project Status
This project is currently in the Data Collection phase.
This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
