Love in the age of big data

It is the ultimate test for big data – finding the secret algorithm of love.

Online dating companies say they have the know-how and scientists have been studying the question for years.

The answers, alas, are not clear-cut for the lovelorn who scour the Internet looking for the perfect mate.

A 2012 study by researchers led by Northwestern University psychologist Eli Finkel concluded there was no algorithm that could predict a successful match, notwithstanding the claims of online dating firms.

“No compelling evidence supports matching sites’ claims that mathematical algorithms work,” read the study published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest.

The researchers wrote that dating sites “re in a poor position to know how the two partners will grow and mature over time... and how the dynamics of their interaction will ultimately promote or undermine romantic attraction and long-term relationship well-being.”

But could it be that dating sites simply have not yet found the right mathematical formula?

A team of researchers led by Kang Zhao at the University of Iowa say that they have found a method which markedly improves chances for online matches.

The new formula, interestingly, is based on the techniques used by successful online companies like Amazon and Netflix, and are based on user recommendations, not merely profiles filled out by love seekers which may be incomplete or inaccurate.

“What we did in our study is to look at users’ activity instead of their profiles,” Zhao explains. 

“Your activity reflects your tastes and your attractiveness, or your unattractiveness. We extend what Amazon and Netflix have been using.”

So if person A shares a lot of characteristics with person B who draws a lot of positive responses from the opposite sex, the reasoning is that person A will elicit a similar response.

This is known as “collaborative filtering” and is used by online commerce firms, according to Zhao, who has been in talks with dating companies on using his formula.

“The new model can better recommend partners that match a user’s taste and attractiveness,” says the study, which will appear later this year in the IEEE Intelligent Systems Journal with co-authors Xi Wang, Mo Yu and Bo Gao.

Zhao says that using this system, “the chances of getting a response increase 40 per cent” compared to a baseline without collaborative filtering.

“Whether it’s a perfect match, I don’t know,” he says. “But we can at least help people get a successful date.”

The new research comes amid growing interest in online dating.

A 2013 Pew Research Centre survey found 11 per cent of Internet users – or some nine per cent of all American adults – have personally used an online dating site. That is a sharp increase from 2008, when just three per cent of American adults had used online dating sites.

The survey found 66 per cent of those who use online sites or apps have gone on a date with someone they met through one of these services. And 23 per cent of online daters have married or begun a long-term relationship with someone they met through a dating site or app, Pew found.

A separate study last year by University of Chicago researchers found more than one-third of US marriages between 2005 and 2012 began with online dating, and those couples may be slightly happier than couples who meet through other means. However, some experts took issue with the findings because the survey was commissioned by eHarmony.com, one of the largest US dating sites.

While the algorithmic method for love has come under fire, one case suggest it may be possible to tweak or hack those formulas to optimise results.

Christopher McKinlay, while studying for a PhD in mathematics, “scraped” data from the profiles of 20,000 women on the dating site OKCupid to find what would get them interested, and increased the “matches” and the number of responses he got from women on the site.

And in the end he found his match, who became his fiancee, according to the account in his just-published e-book, “Optimal Cupid: Mastering the Hidden Logic of OKCupid”.

In their 2012 paper, Finkel and colleagues point out that there are benefits to online dating, notably its “efficient” means of facilitating the meeting of potential partners.

But they caution that there is a downside to this approach – people can get overwhelmed by the large number of choices and can reduce people to “two-dimensional displays of information”.

As the science of love is debated, more people are turning to mobile dating apps which help identify available partners nearby based on smartphone geolocation. Some apps allow people to make their own assessment of a dating prospect.

Hinge, a dating app launched in Washington last year, draws information from users’ Facebook profiles to help match people.

Hinge data scientist John Kleint says the app’s use of Facebook likes and postings helps in setting connections, but he acknowledges the limitations of any formula.

“Trying to develop an algorithm for love is probably the most difficult thing you can do,” Kleint says.

“We try to get you a good first date and you can take it from there.”

 

 

 

They lived ‘app-ily’ ever after

 

Facebook is not the only channel that the new generation uses to find love. Thanks to the broader reach of high-speed Internet connections and more-affordable smartphones, dating apps are gradually stealing the limelight not least because they offer slightly more discreet features and a whole lot more convenience. Just think: your next date could be merely a tap away.

“Of course it’s a lot more convenient than Facebook,” says 28-year-old Ying (not her real name), who describes herself as single and looking.

“With Facebook you have to add someone, or wait for someone to send you a friend request before you can start chatting or learn more about each other. And most likely the people in your friend list are your friends’ friends or people in your circuit, so it’s not so discreet because your friends can see your “activities”. A phone application is more direct and personalised. You can scan through the available profiles, pick your fancy and just go for it. No one has to know, unless you decide to post it on your Facebook wall.”

Among the popular smartphone applications is Available, the newly launched dating app from Meetnlunch, the Thai matching making company and sponsor of TV show “Take Me Out Thailand”. The user-friendly app gets straight to the point. It asks you 15 questions and automatically picks suitable candidates for you, based on the information you provide. You can share pictures, chat and comment on status and pictures just as you do with Facebook.

Another popular app is America’s WhosHere. Launched in 2008. it utilises GPS capabilities and social networking platforms to allow users to interact with other people based on compatible geographical location. You can easily find other users with similar interests and connect with them real-time via free text, image messages and free VoIP calls without disclosing any personal information. 

And of course, there’s that Chinese application WeChat, which already has more than 100 million users worldwide, thanks to it compatibility with almost every mobile phone operation system. Apart from chatting, sharing pictures and broadcasting video and audio messages, it entices users with location-based social plug-ins such as Look Around, where you search for possible match in your vicinity, and Drift Bottle where you throw an audio message in an “ocean”, hoping to get a response from a random receiver. These applications are so instant and convenient it makes speed-dating sound like something from the Dark Ages. 

“But it’s just a way to get to ‘meet’ someone, not the beginning of a relationship,” Ying stresses.. 

“I know that ultimately you need to meet face to face and spend some time together to really know someone, but I enjoy the easy access to the pool of vast dating options that is readily available in the palm of my hand. More options mean more chances, don’t you think?”

Manta Klangboonkrong

The Nation