Digital dating reflects massive social change and pressure (2)

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According to Shang-Hsiu Koo, CFO of Jiayuan, China's largest online matchmaking website, what users value most in a potential match are education level, age, height and legal residence in a top-tier city. Having a residence permit or hukou in a major city is highly desirable because because only those with permits have access to public services and certain employment opportunities in that city.

These personal facts can be found in the profiles hanging in the People's Park marriage market. So, why have so many singles gone online?

According to the United Nations, 2011 marked the first year that the number of people living in Chinese cities exceeded the number living in the countryside.

More people are migrating to cities for economic opportunities since the Chinese government gradually relaxed its control over urban migration.

This trend will continue and the urbanization rate is expected to surpass 60 percent by 2020 and 75 percent by 2045. (More than 82 percent of the US population lives in cities).

While a great deal of research has explored the economic, political and environmental issues that will be affected by increasing urbanization, much less research has examined the social impact of the trend.

In particular, urbanization has uprooted the traditional community-based networks through which people meet their spouses and has thus made it more difficult for Chinese to find mates.

While urbanization opens up economic opportunities for these individuals, it simultaneously closes social outlets, making online dating networks increasingly important in the search for a potential partner.

Despite their impressive growth and attributes, the major Chinese online dating services, such as Jiayuan, face two major business challenges.

First, the online dating service industry in China is fragmented. The second challenge is building trust with users. The number of cases of fraud has increased in online dating websites.

This article was adapted from China Knowlege@Wharton, http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn. To read the original version, please visit: http://www.knowledgeatwharton.com.cn/index.cfm?fa=article&articleid=2726. Published 2013.01.04

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