“In text-based online communications we are nothing until we type at the keyboard and others do not know us unless we tell them something. In the process of narrating to others who we are and what we do, the digital self begins to take shape” (Zhao 397)

Identity is a concept that forms two mental images

One Identity as a structured and bounded package that represents an individual.

Two Second is identity as a fluid, tangible construction of self by an individual

 

 

 

  

Identity on the Web    =     second mental image prevails. 

• So, How can one trust any interaction with individuals online?
• How about personal interactions and the search for a life partner?
• Can a person be trusted to display a completely truthful representation of who he/she is?
• If not are there other ways to gain impressions of people online similar to real world first impressions? 

This essay examines the structure of the website Arablounge, an online dating network that promises to “connect Arabs worldwide” to determine the process of identity formation in dating sites and how the process relates and differs from offline dating. In comparison to offline dating, online dating goes through similar steps of building trust, managing impression and relying on cues.