Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Fri, Dec 05, 2025 09:25 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Zoe Strimpel

PhD Candidate, University of Sussex

From "friendship clubs" and two-line classifieds to flipping through faces on Tinder, the technologies and rituals of dating have changed much in the past 40 years. But how deep do these changes go? Does gender operate as differently within the new courtship realm as the range of new dating technologoies would suggest?

My research is intended to answer these questions, focussing on how mediated dating platforms (eg lonely hearts adverts, computer dating message boards, introduction agencies) have evolved since 1970 and tracking how singles using these platforms have put to work ideas of gender in their adverts or profiles. The study focusses on the metropolitan environment of London, where new technologies, fashions and experimentalism in relationships were more observably taken up than elsewhere in Britain, and considers the effects on daters of the capital's heightened discourses of consumerism, permissivness, choice and alienation. Crucially, London formed a major (though certainly not exclusive) hub of the Women's Liberation Movement, and the ways in which the newly strident and bounteous discourse generated by the movement was used, played with or ignored by daters is also of key interest to me, raising broader questions of how the political relates to the personal in the domain of gender.

More broadly, I am interested in Anglo-American and global courtship cultures throughout the 20th century (up to the present), and particularly in how new technologies are adopted, used or rejected by daters around the world. I am also extremely interested in historiographical debates, particularly those concering where lie the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary history and its sources, especially live digital ones like Facebook.

Cocktails have transformed from drinks into aphrodisiac experiences

Dec 25, 2016 04:07 am UTC| Life

For the philosopher Bertrand Russell, drinking alcohol was a sign of misery: happy people a category that for the rapacious Russell included sexually satisfied people did not seek escape in booze. Yet for the rest of...

Sorry singles – super-niche dating apps are no shortcut to love

Nov 22, 2016 13:32 pm UTC| Life

Attempting to game the mysteries of love or, in dating site eHarmonys terms, the secret sauce of attraction is nothing new. Equally old, of course, is the failure inherent in all such attempts to do so. All of which...

Economy

Gold Prices Edge Higher as Markets Await Key U.S. PCE Inflation Data

Gold prices moved higher in Asian trading on Friday, supported by a weakening U.S. dollar and strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming December 910 meeting. Spot gold rose 0.5%...

Asia’s IPO Market Set for Strong Growth as China and India Drive Investor Diversification

Asias equity capital markets are poised for another strong year as a surge of high-profile IPOs from China and India attracts global investors seeking diversification beyond U.S. assets. In 2025, Asian ECM...

Spain’s Industrial Output Records Steady Growth in October Amid Revised September Figures

Spains industrial sector posted a moderate yet encouraging rise in October, with industrial output increasing 1.2% compared to the same month last year, according to new data released by the National Statistics Institute...

European Stocks Rise as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data

European stock markets edged higher on Friday as investors looked ahead to the delayed release of the Federal Reserves preferred inflation metric, a key indicator ahead of next weeks policy meeting. By early European...

European Oil & Gas Stocks Face 2026 With Cautious Outlook Amid Valuation Pressure

European oil and gas equities are entering 2026 on a more cautious footing as J.P. Morgans latest EU Oils Outlook highlights tightening valuations and growing concerns over a projected global oil oversupply. Despite Brent...

Politics

Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns

Taiwans political landscape heated up after the government announced a plan to suspend access to the Chinese social media platform Rednoteknown as Xiaohongshufor one year. The interior ministry said the proposed ban stems...

China’s Expanding Maritime Military Presence Alarms Taiwan and Japan

Taiwan and Japan expressed growing concern on Friday over Chinas expanding military activity across East Asian waters, following a Reuters report revealing Beijings largest maritime deployment to date. According to...

Honduras Election Turmoil Intensifies as Nasralla Blames Trump for Shift in Results

Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla says last-minute interference by former U.S. President Donald Trump undermined his chances in the countrys tightly contested election. Speaking with Reuters, Nasralla, a...

Australia and Japan Strengthen Defence Cooperation Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles will travel to Japan on Saturday for high-level defence talks with his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, as both nations deepen security cooperation in response to growing regional...

U.S. Justice Department Orders Intensified Probe Into Antifa and Domestic Extremist Groups

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal law enforcement agencies to significantly ramp up investigations into the antifa movement and other groups deemed potential domestic extremist threats, according to an...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to launch a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) over the companys recent rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp....

Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored raising significant capital to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that could have created direct competition with Elon Musks SpaceX. According to a report from the...

Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation

Wikipedia is seeking additional licensing deals with major technology companies to address the growing financial burden caused by artificial intelligence firms heavily scraping its platform, according to co-founder Jimmy...

Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature

Firelight reaches 25M XRP deposit cap within hours of launch; ushers in a new era for decentralized XRP staking. A new XRP staking platform, Firelight, has officially launched on the Flare blockchain, marking the first...

OpenAI Moves to Acquire Neptune as It Expands AI Training Capabilities

OpenAI has confirmed plans to acquire Neptune, a startup known for its advanced tools that help companies track, monitor, and optimize AI model training workflows. Although the company did not release the financial details...