For my research project, I think I am going to go with the topic that I discussed in class about the male rating app LULU. I plan on downloading the app and rating every guy I know.
JUST KIDDING. My actual plan (very, very tentative, yet) is to answer a question. That question is yet to be determined exactly, and that's where I want your opinions, please! I could go in a variety of ways with this topic: why is it okay for women to judge men when there is no app for males? how does this affect dating in our society today? how does this app play into of young adults "commodifying" ourselves to our peers? does it matter that men have to sign themselves up to be eligible for rating?
I would probably analyze articles online about the app, as well as find other resources which cover social media dating as a whole. I'm sure there is a lot of resources to be discovered- when we discussed it in class, it seemed as if everyone had read something about a new dating/hooking up/STD result-showing app. Also, I feel like I can infer a lot from using the app on my own smart phone. Although I do not plan on using the app to find a new man, or even to rate the existing one, I will be able to write about my own conclusions made from the program. If anyone has any ideas on where to look for resources or exactly what questions to ask, please do not be afraid to comment and let me know what you think. It would be greatly appreciated!
I'm very interested in seeing how this turns out (as well as looking at hundreds of profiles). I am also very excited to watch and hear how everyone else's projects come along- everyone in the class has awesome ideas.
Hi Caitlin, My suggestion would be to try to bring in a comparative angle. Look at 2 or 3 apps and explore the questions you raised: how does this affect dating in our society today? how does this app play into of young adults "commodifying" ourselves to our peers? -- You'll want to check out trend pieces on online dating, but also see what you can find in academic scholarship. I'll help you out with this.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be interesting to do a comparison of "girl-objectifying" apps and these new ones like LULU that are not more "boy-objectifying." Figure out how and when these apps came about, and more importantly, why. Why have apps like LULU come out in recent years? Is it a response to the "girl-objectifying" apps? Are apps like LULU only popular because the girl ones came first? Just a few ideas.
ReplyDeleteYou know (and this is going to be extremely embarrassing to admit that I know this) there is a whole couple episodes of MTV's show, Awkward, that deals with this issue. The guys have a book that rates the girls, and the girls become so furious that Tamara creates a website that allows girls to rate guys and then of course in MTV's special way chaos ensues. It may be worth watching simply because it shows the effects on both genders.
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