Predicting someone\u27s true identity: Linguistic norms and cues in online personal advertisements

Internet dating is now ranked third as the way people meet, behind meeting at work or school, and through a friend or family member. This study researches the use of social and linguistic norms in online dating advertisements. Previous research has posed that social groups create unique identities and group members will selectively present themselves in ways consistent with these identities. Using Craigslist to assess the similarities and differences between genders and sexualities in online personal postings, an online quiz-like survey was created. This research reports on people\u27s abilities to predict the sexual orientation and gender of the writer based on linguistic cues