| 内容 |
The hottest topic among university students is romance. Today, with the advent of online dating applications (“matching applications” in Japanese), and other services, romance is becoming more diversified. However, there is a growing trend of young people falling out of love and remaining unmarried. Therefore, the author conducted semi-structured interviews with four male and four female university students to find out how today's youth view relationships and what their impressions are of matching applications. The author found that today's youth are more timid about relationships, and that using matching applications makes it easier for them to get involved in relationships. The author also found matching applications used to give the impression of being for fun and not serious, but that this has now changed to the perception that some applications offer serious encounters. In the context of declining birthrates, this study suggests that matching applications have the potential to decrease the number of young people falling out of love and remaining unmarried. |
| 講評 |
The author’s journey towards a completed thesis can be characterized by many ups and downs. Thankfully, it ended on a high note, and the quality of the thesis?a thoughtful, original, qualitative contribution towards the growing literature on dating applications?reflects this. Initially, there were some struggles in choosing a topic and sticking with it. Due to this frequent changing of topics, the literature review remains a bit underdeveloped, especially regarding foreign research on dating applications. Once the eventual topic was chosen, however, it gradually became apparent that the author is capable of conducting original research. For instance, the author’s skill at conducting interviews is clear from the richness of the data and the effectiveness of its presentation. Moreover, the author was able to incorporate feedback points pro-actively, leading to a satisfying final thesis with writing that flows smoothly and makes its points concisely. |
