AGENCY IN THE ONLINE MATCHMAKING PLATFORM STUDY OF RUMAH TAARUF MYQURAN AND MAWADDAH INDONESIA

Abstract

The emergence of the online ta’aruf matchmaking platform represents a shift in the community’s religious practice from offline to online media. The matchmaking platform’s use of internet technology is a unique selling point, as it attracts a large number of members. Apart from the religious messages propagated by each platform, the emergence of the online taaruf matchmaking media is undoubtedly sustained by the agencies involved in order to attract its members. The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of agents in two online matchmaking platforms: Rumah Taaruf myQuran and Mawaddah Indonesia. This research employs an agency theory framework. Based on the data gathered, this study concludes that the success of these two platforms is a reflection of the performance of the numerous agents involved. These agents are not gender-specific, but rather multi-agency.