Cold Intimacies on Dating Apps in the Chinese Context

Introduction

(What is the problem? What is my subject? What is going on? Why is this interesting? )

Romantic connection has long been a central concern of human life. Historically, matchmaking in China took place offline, mediated by woman matchmakers, kinship networks, and face-to-face evaluation. In the digital era, intimacy is increasingly mediated by platforms: people now swipe, filter, and chat their way toward potential partners. I began using dating apps myself last year, first in New York and then in China. What struck me was not only the increased access to new people but a subtle transformation in my own affect: I became more indifferent, emotionally flattened and numb, and normatively patterned in how I interacted with strangers.

This observation motivates my central question: How does the Chinese context shape a particular form of “cold intimacy” in dating apps?

Why this topic matters to me

I chose dating apps as my media practice not only because they are widely used to pursue romantic/sexual ties, but also because my own usage made me aware of something structurally new in the emotional experience of intimacy online. I noticed:

• A growing emotional flatness toward strangers
• A shared behavioral script among users
• Feelings I could not explain with common-sense psychological language

So this research asks not simply what dating apps do, but what they do to us — and specifically, what they do to us in China.

Background/Context

(What is the context of this issue? What is the relevant history? What led us to this point? )

Dating Apps Generally

How dating apps work

technoculture

Research Field

( Introduce the discussion and debates to your reader, guide them through. What are the main questions most frequently raised about this? In the literature, what are the areas of contestation? )