An interesting article on Forbes.com by Katheryn Thayer looks at online dating’s prevalence in society and why it is not equally represented in media such as TV.
Thayer talks about how online dating has become a mainstream aspect of daily life, Tinder was covered in nearly every major news source last year, and yet its influence hasn’t extended to TV and film.
At the turn of the year however, Tinder’s foray into advertising characters from Fox’s The Mindy Project coincided with the show focussing an episode on the app.
And this year we’ve also seen eHarmony in the Ben Stiller film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, along with Spike Jonze’s Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix, which deals with accelerated concepts surrounding technology, online dating and relationships.
Thayer writes that a new Bravo show called Online Dating Rituals of the American Male – which follows men who use online dating – will perhaps continue the trend of entertainment media featuring online dating.
Shari Levine, Bravo’s Vice President of Current Production/ Original Programming said: “Online dating has become extremely mainstream now and whether or not you are on an online dating site, someone in your inner circle is active on one.
“Now more than ever, we felt this would resonate with our viewers and that people would find the male perspective intriguing.”
As Thayer says, it will be “a televised sign of just how common online dating has become” and perhaps a precursor of a new media relationship towards online dating in the future.
Read the full article here.