Today’s theme: Dating through Media

(in time for Popularity of Heart Signal Season 2)

A dating reality show ‘Heart Signal,’ which aired last fall here in Korea, gained huge popularity. The program ignited the revival of other dating reality shows. And Season 2 of Heart Signal has been even more popular. These dating reality shows may have different concepts, but they have similar settings. Young participants, who are total strangers to each other, live together in certain places designated by producers for a certain period of time. And such programs are popular all over the world. We look into the reasons behind the success of these shows and how they reflect our society’s attitude toward romance.

The Conversationalist

with

Angela Smith

- Professor of Language and Culture at the University of Sunderland

You analyzed the success factors of Love Islands, and the first thing you pointed out was the format of the program that blends the genres of previously successful programs. Can you tell us more about the format of Love Island?

You also mentioned the thrill of live broadcast because they use the Big Brother-like camera system to capture real moments. Can you elaborate?

&

Dr Martin Graff

- from the Department of Psychology at the University of South Wales

- an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society

- a Chartered Psychologist, researching online interaction romantic relationships.

- author of Love, Digitally: Where romantic relationships meet internet behavior

Micro-cheating is another buzzword that came along with the rise of online dating and social media. Can you explain to us what this means? Do you think people are more prone to do this when they use internet excessively?

We tend to believe that online profiles on social media services or online dating services are superficial and provide limited information. But in your article “What’s Behind a Dating Profile?”, you say that online profiles can tell more about people than we might actually think. Can you tell us why?

Media Monster

Next week: Football/soccer

(in time for 2018 Russia World Cup)