Thirdhanddating.com- Welcome to the post-human era

Thirdhanddating.com embodies the whole premise of this blueprint.

Thirdhanddating.com symbolises the nature of and psychology behind much of our habits of online dating. The nature of the self online is a complicated issue as it brings into question issues of trust, authenticity and confidence in relation to dating in a way seldom seen before the advent of dating profiles. In a market place that makes individuals condense the some of their experiences, likes and dislikes into a limited standardised format, the likelihood that the true nature of the subject is replicated through the subjects profile is minimal. The competitive nature of online dating pressures the user to often inflate or deflate certain aspects of their personalities and hide unwanted features from potential love interests. 

This brings us to the concept of the third hand. Inspired by Cyborg theory, it can be argued that the online dating profile is part of a new evolution of social interaction that is based on the users capabilities in designing what can be dubbed 'the social prosthesis', a third hand which allows access to the world of digital love. It is clear form data gathered by sites such as okcupid that there is a certain pattern that correlates how a profile is presented and the positive attention that profile receives, terminology used, profile picture technique and even the name of the user all effect the rate of swipes and replies an account receives based on averages. The amount of articles online centring around profile optimisation are evidence that this concept is now part of mainstream thought, but the implications of this behaviour are rarely thought about by the public at large. 

This profile is completely derived from information a potential user can readily access online, be it statistics or articles with the aim of getting a greater pull factor for the user. What this project aims to achieve is to increase the awareness that what you're seeing online when dating is not the reflection of a person directly, but a persons interpretation of what is perceived as desirable. Like a piece of designer prosthetics, you are interacting with a tool that is specifically designed to fulfil a task stylishly and with maximum efficiency. You are interacting with another users digital 'third hand'.