Abstract
Tinder is the most popular and most used dating app in the world today. Due to the recent popularization of the phenomenon of dating apps, there are still some gaps in the literature. Therefore, this study had a threefold objective: (1) to determine the prevalence and characteristics of Tinder users and Tinder use among young university students; (2) to know why these young people use Tinder; and (3) to analyze the relationship between Tinder use and different psychosocial correlates (positive and negative affect, body satisfaction, sociosexuality, and attitudes towards consensual nonmonogamy) and psychosexual well-being (self-esteem as a sexual partner, satisfaction with sex life, and preoccupation with sex). Participants were 1261 Spanish university students (77.4% women, 77.5% heterosexuals) between ages 18 and 26 (M = 20.59, SD = 2.04) who completed a battery of online questionnaires. A prevalence of Tinder use of about 15% was found. The motives for use most frequently reported by the participants were those of curiosity, passing time/entertainment, and sexual orientation. Besides, Tinder users showed greater sociosexuality than nonusers, as well as increased dissatisfaction with their sex life and sexual preoccupation, and more positive attitudes towards consensual nonmonogamy. Importantly, no or very small differences were found in the general emotional well-being-related variables. Tinder seems like just another tool used by young people for their romantic and/or sexual interactions, without any negative connotation.
Highlights
The development of online dating has grown considerably in recent years and has changed the way some people interact with potential new romantic and/or sexual partners, especially after the emergence and popularization of dating apps [1]
Age was associated with the Tinder users group, with users being the older ones (M = 21.40, SD = 2.03) and nonusers the younger (M = 20.46, SD = 2.01), t(1259) = 5.72, p < 0.001, d = 0.46
Concerning Tinder use and Tinder users, a prevalence of use of about 15%, similar to that found by Castro et al [15], was found in a different sample of Spanish university students
Summary
The development of online dating has grown considerably in recent years and has changed the way some people interact with potential new romantic and/or sexual partners, especially after the emergence and popularization of dating apps [1]. The real-time location-based dating apps (e.g., Tinder and Grindr), with a very simple and intuitive functioning (see the description of how Tinder works, for example, in [4]), have great advantages over other forms of dating, including sites and websites [5]. Some authors, such as Ranzini and Lutz [6]. The visual aspect, because they are specially oriented towards physical appearance, through photos and a brief self-description
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