College Students Embrace an Algorithm for Love. NewsWire

NewsWire: 6/05/21

• During the pandemic, “marriage pacts” based on compatibility questions have taken off at colleges around the country. The questionnaire is meant to match students with a “practical choice” if they’re not married by their mid-30s. (The New York Times)
• NH: In 2017, two Stanford students created a questionnaire they jokingly called the “Marriage Pact.” It consists of 50 statements that respondents rate on a scale of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Examples: “Gender roles exist for a good reason” and “Are you comfortable with your child being gay?” The responses are run through an algorithm and pair off students with their most compatible long-term partner.
• The survey creators wrote the questions based on academic research on successful romantic relationships. They received 4,000 responses--accounting for more than half the undergraduate population--within five days.
• Since then, the questionnaire has expanded to several other colleges. Most recently, many more schools, including Tufts and Vanderbilt, signed up to conduct the Marriage Pact during the pandemic, bringing the total to 55.
• Administrators framed this move as a much-needed distraction during a tough time. True enough. But the Pact's popularity may also signal that students find an algorithmic approach to love both comforting and useful. Answer some questions, and a formula built on big data spits out the best partner for you.
• No, it’s hardly romantic. But its appeal is understandable. In the age of prenups and “love contracts” (see “Millennials Turn to Prenups” and “Office Romance? No Thanks, Millennials Say”), that’s just what young people seem to be looking for. 

Did You Know?

• The Doctor is…Fake? Fake online reviews are an annoyance for those searching for new restaurants or products (see “Star Searching”). But as highlighted in The Washington Post, they’ve become a more serious problem for those seeking medical care. An increasing number of doctors, particularly those with small private practices, have come under fire for purchasing positive reviews to boost their reputations. One expert estimates that as many as 20% of businesses in the health care industry have fake reviews on Google and Yelp. Under federal and state laws, fake reviews can be illegal if they’re used for financial gain, but there’s little enforcement by authorities or disciplinary action from the sites that host them. All of this suggests that patients need to take doctors’ reviews with a grain of salt or stick to personal recommendations. Yet according to a 2020 survey, over 70% of Americans rely on online reviews when they’re selecting a new doctor, up from just 25% in 2013.