ABSTRACT
Online dating platforms in Southeast Asia can be regarded as seemingly liberating modern-day sites for connecting with many unknown people in an effort to find the right love. Marketing efforts for both local and international online dating platforms have been crafted with the Southeast Asian audience in mind by localizing the apps to satisfy the needs and desires of users. While research on online dating tends to focus on examining the general usage of online dating sites, it is important to consider the manifestations of the self within these dating networks, and what it ultimately reveals about gender inequality and social exclusion amidst seemingly liberating platforms, particularly for the more conservative societies in Southeast Asia. Studies on social media and the echo-chamber effect have pointed to the increase in social and political polarization and extremism in societies.
