Implications of the Use of Online Media on the Shidduch Process for Ultra-Orthodox Girls

The ultra-Orthodox society is a conservative one wherein “traditional” or “arranged” marriages are the norm. This pattern of marriage is based on social expectations of the prospective couple’s parents, in contrast to the western “modern marriage”, which is based on the personal relationship of the couple.

Since the mid-1990s, the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel has undergone significant changes, as a result of its increasing integration into the surrounding majority society. These changes have led to greater openness toward modernity in all aspects of life, including education, occupation, communication, leisure culture, and consumption, as well as openness toward various ideas, concepts, and practices such as feminist discourse and internet forums (Braun-Lewensohn and Kalagy 2019; Malach and Cahaner 2017(.

Literature review indicates a dramatic impact of social changes on marriage patterns and the processes of spousal choice, arising as a result of transitioning from traditional society to modern society (Allendorf and Ghimire 2013; Ghimire, Axinn, and Yabiku 2006). The proposed paper, therefore, will discuss the implications of these changes, and the use of online media in particular, on the shiduch process of ultra-Orthodox girls. The paper is based on the qualitative paradigm, eliciting information about the world as seen through the respondents’ eyes, thus providing insight into their experiences and conceptual world (Denzin and Lincoln 2000). Data were obtained through in-depth interviews (Patton 2015) and chats.