Dating culture and narrativisation

This chapter shows not only the narrativisation inherent in ethnography but also more specifically the way intimacies and personal life are subjects understood through the format of storytelling. Dating apps acted as a tangible nucleus around which research participants could anchor their stories, not only in that they provided a steady stream of potential partners but also in their affordances as hosting profiles, conversations, images, and videos which could be distributed and assessed. Every moment of an intimate interaction was ready to be shared via a screenshot, a ready-made archive of a relationship narrative. Dating apps were popular among research participants not only for their role as a tool to facilitate encounters but also in their role as a catalyst for stories.