'If You Are the One' touches the nerves of this generation

Li Yang and Li Meng were the first couple to get married after the show. (Photo from People's Daily Overseas Edition)

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

The effects triggered by a dating show

An older single girl had complained in her blog that every weekend her mother will sit in front of the TV to watch a dating show called “If You Are the One.” It seems that her mother is pressuring her to find a boyfriend as soon as possible. Zhang Qiang, a 30-year-old man who works in Indonesia, also feels the same. His parents watch "If You Are the One" mainly in order to find a girlfriend for him. At first, they watched the program every weekend and wrote down the names and phone numbers of several girls they thought would be a good match.

This generation has too many older "leftover singles," and as a result, has generated extensive viewers for the dating show. It is also in line with the producer Wang Gang’s motive and his team members. The dating show touches the sensitive nerves of this era.

"Some viewers are older singles who are hoping to find their marriage partners on the show and some are older people who want to learn about the values of young people and even find the right partners for their children," said Tang Yuanqing, director of the News Comment and Public Opinion Research Center under the Communication University of China.

"Of course, some viewers are attracted to some of the contestants through their private stories and individual words and deeds. Some are attracted by the drama and conflicts, and some want to learn about the younger generation’s viewpoint on love and marriage, and their outlook on life," Tang added.

The show is a big stage that reveals human nature

Conflict, fun and suspense are the three characteristics of "If You Are the One"

Twenty-four girls and five boys, breaking through the traditional one-to-one dating shows, can cause some subtle confrontation. If the 24 female guests are a "TV series," the five male guests are "single stories." The former is comparatively stable and viewers know much about their characters and means of expression while the latter are different episode and can raise new topics every time。