[Paper Review] Saudi Arabian Parents' Perception of Online Marital Matchmaking Technologies

Adel Al-Dawood, Serene Alhajhussein+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Oct 19, 2020

Innovative Human-Technology Interaction76 references4 citations

TL;DR

This study investigates Saudi Arabian parents' perceptions of online marital matchmaking technologies through 16 semi-structured interviews, revealing that parents prioritize preserving cultural and religious values, integrating technology into traditional family-involved marriage processes, and protecting their children from potential harms. The findings inform value-sensitive design of matchmaking systems tailored to collectivist, Islamic cultural contexts in Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT

Finding a date or a spouse online is usually considered an individualistic endeavor in Western cultures. This presents a challenge for collectivist non-Western cultures such as Saudi Arabia where choosing a spouse is viewed as a union of two families with parents of both spouses being heavily involved. Our work aims to investigate how Saudi Arabian parents view the utilization of technology by their young adults to seek potential spouses online. We report our findings of interviews conducted with 16 Saudi Arabian parents (8 fathers, 6 mothers and 1 couple). We generate qualitative themes that provide insights about how parents wanted to preserve their values, integrate technology into the traditional process and protect their young adults from potential harms. These themes lead to implications for designing suitable marital matchmaking technologies in Saudi Arabia and opportunities for future work.

Motivation & Objective

• To understand Saudi Arabian parents' concerns and perspectives regarding online marital matchmaking technologies.
• To examine the role parents wish to play in the online matchmaking process within Saudi cultural norms.
• To identify design implications that preserve cultural and religious values while integrating technology.
• To support inclusive, culturally grounded design of matchmaking technologies in collectivist, Muslim-majority societies.

Proposed method

• Conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with Saudi Arabian parents (8 fathers, 6 mothers, 1 couple) using snowball sampling and Twitter outreach.
• Employed qualitative thematic analysis to identify recurring concerns, values, and desired roles in matchmaking technologies.
• Focused on the first two stages of traditional marriage—proposal and social engagement—where parental involvement is central.
• Analyzed data through the lens of value-sensitive design, emphasizing cultural, religious, and familial values in technology design.
• Explored how technology could coexist with traditional processes without undermining parental authority or religious norms.
• Used findings to derive design implications for future matchmaking systems in Saudi Arabia.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What concerns and views do Saudi Arabian parents have about marital matchmaking technologies?
• RQ2 What is an effective role for Saudi Arabian parents to play in marital matchmaking technologies?
• RQ3 How can technology be designed to preserve cultural and religious values while supporting safe and inclusive matchmaking?

Key findings

• Parents expressed strong concerns about their daughters’ safety and modesty when using online matchmaking platforms, especially regarding privacy and exposure to unsupervised interactions.
• Fathers were more likely than mothers to want to intervene directly in their daughters’ online dating decisions, reflecting traditional gender roles and religious obligations.
• Parents emphasized that technology should not replace family involvement but should instead support the traditional, family-centered process of marriage.
• Many parents viewed online tools as potentially beneficial only if they maintained parental oversight and aligned with Islamic principles of modesty and family honor.
• There was a clear preference for technology that enables information exchange between families before formal proposals, rather than direct communication between potential spouses.
• Parents were cautious about platforms that allowed unmoderated or private interactions between young adults, fearing they could undermine family authority or lead to premarital relationships.