Do Dating Apps/Sites Actually Work?

Recently one of my friends coaxed me into downloaded the popular dating app Tinder. At first I was very skeptical because I had no idea what to expect. If I am being completely honest I thought of it as a joke for the longest time, but then I started to think differently after a few weeks of having the app. Not everyone on there was creepy or strange like how I originally predicted; it’s just an app used to meet people whether it’s to form new friendships or look for a potential relationship. However, I must have matched with over fifty people by now and have only talked to a handful of them. This leads to my underlying question: Do dating apps such as Tinder actually work or is it something to not worth bothering with?

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Study One

The first study I am going to address has to do with Tinder. The way Tinder works is that one can either swipe right if the person is potentially interested or swipe left if the person is not feeling it. According to a study presented at the American Psychological Association, a lot of left swipes on one’s profile can result in a more negative perception of oneself in terms of esteem and body image. This study was conducted by using a survey for 1,300 people. The focus was on mainly on college students. They were asked to rate how they thought about themselves through utilizing self-reporting and questionnaires. In a surprising twist, men were found to have a lower self-esteem in comparison to the women that participated in the study. This was found to be surprising because women are stereotypically viewed as having a lower self-esteem than men do. The researchers who conducted this study believe this can be a result of having more men than women on Tinder.

The meta-analysis study was a good way to collect information from all of the participants. However, I believe that there should be an alternative to self-reporting because people are not always honest with their answers especially when not given a template of some form or another to follow thus making it easier to stray off course from the study. Since this was a published study it did not suffer from the file drawer problem.

If people were to view themselves more negatively then that has a direct correlation to the effectiveness of the dating app and people’s perception of perspective matches while using Tinder.

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Study Two

 According to a study, more than one-third of marriages in the United States are started from online. This study was conducted by using a survey and had a total of 19,131 responses. The people who participated in this study married between the years of 2005 and 2012. Another important thing to note about the study was that researchers found that marriages that began through a dating site were slightly more successful in comparison to the traditional form of dating.

Since there was such a large amount of responses, a survey was the most effective method for the study. My initial hypothesis for this study was that it would be 50/50; some people would have success in marriages through online dating sites and apps while the other half would not. The null hypothesis in this study was that success in marriage through dating apps and sites could go either way while the alternative hypothesis in this study was it would either be a complete success or a total failure.

 

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Take Home Message

Ultimately, dating apps and sites aren’t for everyone because we each have different tastes and preferences. The reason why I used two different studies is because I wanted to get two different takes on the question. One study had to do with dating and using an app while the other had to do with marriage and using an online site. This way, there is a better perspective. While both studies were effective, I found the second study to be more effective than the first even though there were more participants because the second study did not include self-reporting. Overall, I think that dating apps and sites can work, but it is just a matter of what type of person you are.

6 thoughts on “Do Dating Apps/Sites Actually Work?

  1. Jeffrey Sherman

    I never really particularly liked Tinder as I believe it a bit superficial, but I never knew the amount of science surrounding applications like these. I don’t harbor any bias against those who choose to use the app, as it simply appears to be an easy way to meet people. According to an article from the New York Times, 1 in 10 American adults now utilize some form of online dating site, showing that dating apps must work for some considering their popularity.

  2. Jovian Ebony Osborne-pantlitz

    I have always been opposed to dating websites because of the security risks. I believe there’s nothing like old fashioned interaction. Approaching and introducing yourself when you see someone you like, but i know rejection can take a toll on someones self esteem. After, reading about how successful marriages were intrigued me. “Cuffing Season” is approaching and maybe this can help finding someone genuine, if it ends in marriage I am all ears. Hopefully, I won’t be to late. Like most apps in the new generation they are phases. Here’s a link showing the dating-app fatigue. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/10/the-unbearable-exhaustion-of-dating-apps/505184/

  3. mzm6020

    In my personal experience, I found that dating apps have worked and they are becoming more and more common! My girlfriend and I met because she was a barista at starbucks, but we are both so open and supportive of dating apps because so many of our friends have met each other through dating apps. I think as the number of apps and users grow, the negative stigma of dating apps will perish, as people do find that these apps are designed for the pure purpose of finding significant other! Here is a link on why Tinder works! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ross-a-rosenberg/tinder-and-human-nature_b_5513655.html

  4. Zachary Jacob Himel

    I’ve pretty much never been sucessful on a dating app, but recently I did meet a girl I found to be pretty interesting. We talk a lot and even though she is going back to India for a couple months, we are planning on meeting up over break. This is probably my favorite dating app: https://www.gotinder.com

  5. Michael David Kresovich

    I thought that your blog was great in terms of asking a question and finding a common to your question. I think dating is special because some things work for different people, Im sure Tinder is crucial to some, while other just prefer to not mess with dating apps.

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