Dating: Bars, Clubs, And Personal Advertisements :: essays research papers

Dating: Bars, Clubs, and Personal Advertisements Single adults partake of many activities to seek dates and find mates. Many use advertisements in local newspapers to attract possible candidates for a relationship. Others go to single's clubs and bars to find their potential soul mate. The type of activities people choose are dependent on the person's self- esteem and self-confidence. The information for this research was obtained from the article â€Å"Self Esteem of Persons Seeking Dates Via Bars, Singles Clubs, and Personal Advertisements.† The article was written by Paul Yelsma and Paul L. Wienir. It appears in â€Å"Sociological Spectrum† for January - March 1996.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The research method used in this article was a questionnaire. These questionnaires were sent to people who advertised in the local paper. Single's club participants were presented questionnaires and asked to complete them at one of the two clubs in the same geographic region. Those who attended bars were either contacted directly or given questionnaires. The questionnaires were completed by 152 subjects: 40 from ads; 62 attended singles clubs, and 50 frequented bars. (Yelsma and Weinir, p. 35)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What effect does self esteem have in a person's decision on what type of method to use to find their possible companion? It is shown that people with lower self-esteems tend to choose personal advertisements, while people with higher self esteems tend to lean towards the bar scene. Others with a mediocre self-esteem seem to go towards the clubs scene. According to Josephs, Larrick, Steele, and Nisbett, (1992, p. 27) â€Å"The higher one's self esteem, the less one has to fear from threats to the self, and individuals with higher levels of self-esteem should be less affected by the threats to the self.† This means that the higher ones self esteem is, the more they will not be afraid to show themselves in public. Those with the low self-esteems, will hide behind the words of a personal advertisement, while those with higher self-esteems will be open enough to attempt to meet people on a personal basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the reasons people are reluctant to use personal ads are because of their odd beginnings. In the early days of personal ads, they were used by those seeking homosexual relationships, and for â€Å"immoral actions.† However, since then, the have become much popular. People from all walks of life use personal ads to attract others with similar likes and dislikes. In a personal advertisement, the person making the ad gets the advantage of never actually meeting the person before first contact. This allows them to have a veil of secrecy around them. For those with low self-esteem, this allows them to hide