Cigarette Smoking and Dating App Use: Findings from a Survey in a Sample of Adults in Italy.

Luca Flesia,Carlo Foresta,Valentina Fietta,Merylin Monaro

doi:10.3390/ejihpe11020040

Luca Flesia, Carlo Foresta + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe11020040

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Abstract

Existing studies in the literature indicate an association between the use of dating apps and substance-related behaviours (i.e., alcohol consumption, drug consumption). However, to date, no studies investigated the relation between dating app use and smoking. This study aims to explore this association. A total of 1278 respondents completed an online ad hoc questionnaire assessing demographics, smoking habits, dating app use, motivations for using dating apps. Multiple logistic regression analyses were run to investigate the relation between demographics and dating apps use on tobacco consumption. Being active user was significantly associated with being smoker, light daily and moderate-to-heavy smoker. Among users, using apps with the motive of searching for friends accounted for lower odds of smoking, light daily smoking and moderate-to-heavy smoking. However, heavy dating app users were less likely to smoke, to be light daily smokers and to be moderate-to-heavy smokers. The study indicates an association between using the apps and smoking, suggesting that motives for using the apps and intensity of use may moderate this association.

Highlights

IntroductionMobile dating apps (or “geosocial networking smartphone applications”) are applications that people can download on mobile phones, providing the opportunity to create new personal connections, usually with the goal of developing personal, romantic or sexual relationships
Regarding the associations between the motives for using the apps and the different levels of smoking, we found that the current aim of using dating apps to meet new people was associated with all the three levels of smoking (smoking: χ2 = 10.91, p < 0.001, odds ratio (OR) = 0.41; light daily smoking: χ2 = 10.78, p < 0.01, OR = 0.37; moderate-to-heavy smoking (χ2 = 10.20, p < 0.01; OR = 0.13))
The present study approached for the first time the specific topic of the relation between tobacco consumption and dating app use, providing cues for the planning of future lines of research

Summary

Introduction

Mobile dating apps (or “geosocial networking smartphone applications”) are applications that people can download on mobile phones, providing the opportunity to create new personal connections, usually with the goal of developing personal, romantic or sexual relationships. They allow users to find people based on different personal desired features (e.g., age, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation) and, using featured geolocation systems, to find close located people. As regards the association between the use of dating apps and substance-related behaviours out of sexual activities, very few studies investigated this issue [6,7,8]. Holloway et al (2015) found high rates of recent binge drinking, marijuana use and illicit substance use among a sample of 295 MSM app users [7]

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