The Online Dating "Anti-Lemon" Problem

I can guarantee you this will be my only post on dating, ever.  I have noticed a profound problem regarding online dating: excessive and illustrative handle names.  I think this points to an emerging "anti-lemon" problem online.    

From an economics standpoint, the "lemon problem" has seemingly plagued some markets for goods.  The "lemon problem: essentially refers to information asymmetries between buyers and sellers of goods (or lovers).  For example, buyers cannot typically tell the quality of cars at second hand car dealers. At the same time, prices for the cars do not vary that much failing to give the buyer a clear "signal" of quality.  As a result, the market for second hand cars falls apart as buyers only offer below market prices (afraid they will be taken at a higher price), and people wanting to sell high-quality cars won't because they will not get the price their car is worth. 

The lemon problem seemingly has an application in dating too: although looks were pretty easy to discern, vast informational asymmetries existed in a person's background, personality, and financial status.  While not necessarily a deciding factor in the breakup of some relationships, adverse selection would certainly doom the occasional relationship. 

Enter online dating.  Online dating has exacerbated existing information asymmetries as no one really knows what person a looks like, their personality, or their real intentions online.  One of the ways to bridge these asymmetries is quite simple: increase the level and intensity of signaling.  For example, a friend of mine recently sent emails to me from women who emailed him with such handles such as "PoshGirl99" and "Gucci Whore."  While these handles might be funny and describe their true motives, it would seem we have a new problem emerging: the anti-lemon problem. People, in order to gain attention and distinguish themselves, signal their intentions so clearly that they might actually hurt their chances of finding a mate  over the long run.  Indeed, men who may have initially fallen in love with these women, and then agreed to fund their Gucci habit, now have clear evidence of front of a woman's real intentions to vitiate their pocketbooks.  A word to the wise; clearer signaling doesn't necessarily mean better results.