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Do young dating app users and non-users differ in mating orientations?

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  • Juan Ramón Barrada
  • Ángel Castro
  • Elena Fernández del Río
  • Pedro J Ramos-Villagrasa

Abstract

In recent years, dating apps have changed the way people meet and communicate with potential romantic and/or sexual partners. There exists a stereotype considering that these apps are used only for casual sex, so those apps would not be an adequate resource to find a long-term relationship. The objective of this study was to analyze possible individual differences in the mating orientations (short-term vs. long-term) between users and non-users of dating apps. Participants were 902 single students from a mid-size Spanish university, of both sexes (63% female, and 37% male), aged between 18 and 26 years (M = 20.34, SD = 2.05), who completed a battery of online questionnaires. It was found that, whereas dating apps users had a higher short-term mating orientation than non-users (more frequent behavior, higher desire, and more positive attitude), there were no differences in the long-term orientation as a function of use/non-use. Considering this, dating apps are a resource with a strong presence of people interested on hooking-up while, simultaneously, not a bad (nor good) option for finding long-term love.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Ramón Barrada & Ángel Castro & Elena Fernández del Río & Pedro J Ramos-Villagrasa, 2021. "Do young dating app users and non-users differ in mating orientations?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(2), pages 1-11, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0246350
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246350
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Juan Ramón Barrada & Ángel Castro, 2020. "Tinder Users: Sociodemographic, Psychological, and Psychosexual Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-17, October.
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