How Online Dating Affects Mental Health and Behavior

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMany People Use Dating AppsWhy People Use or Don’t Use Dating AppsWhat People Look For on Dating AppsPotential Drawbacks of Online DatingHow Online Dating May Be Changing Mating PatternsHookup CultureOnline Dating vs. In-Person Dating

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Many People Use Dating Apps

Why People Use or Don’t Use Dating Apps

What People Look For on Dating Apps

Potential Drawbacks of Online Dating

How Online Dating May Be Changing Mating Patterns

Hookup Culture

Online Dating vs. In-Person Dating

Close

Technology has ushered in a huge cultural shift in how we find love—over time, the pervasiveness of online dating has skyrocketed. For the most part, online dating has been normalized and accepted as a tool for making human connections. The revenue from this industry and its frequency of use are astronomical.

How to Create a Dating Profile

The popular swipe-based dating app Tinder reported 75 million users worldwide as of 2022. An estimated 20% of all Americans are engaging in online dating, which may seem small until you consider that most American adults are partnered.

According to the Pew Research Center, only 30% of Americans are single (i.e., not married, cohabitating, or in a committed relationship).

Over 30% of Americans recently married met online. In Australia, one of America’s closest global competitors for online dating, a 2017 survey of 14,000 recently married or engaged couples found that 1 in 5 met using online dating apps.

People cite the obvious reasons for being on dating apps, such as seeking a long-term partner or a sexual encounter; the split is fairly even. On the other hand, some choose not to participate in dating app usage for other reasons.

Dating App Users

Forty-nine percent of online daters report looking for marriage, while 47% report that they are specifically seeking casual sex.

In one study, participants noted that they used dating apps in pursuit of validation of their self-worth.Forty percent of online daters report that being on a dating site positively impacted their self-esteem.

Non-Users

Those individuals surveyed who denied using online dating stated reasons such as they are not looking for a partner at all, the most common reason.

Others stated that they prefer meeting people other ways, don’t trust people online, or feel that meeting online would lead to a type of relationship in which they were not interested.

How to Date Without Using Apps

Geographical proximity, age, and education level are important to online daters in addition to appearance. However, men are much less likely to adhere to their predetermined criteria if they find a potential partner attractive.

Most online daters did eventually meet at least one person face to face, while 22% never arranged a meeting. Forty percent of users report that they have had at least one relationship that they would describe as “serious” with someone they met online.

Forty-nine percent of users with a pre-existing mood disorder report that use of online dating aggravates their depressive symptoms, while 20% state that online dating is actually beneficial to their mood.

Psychological Distress

People who using dating apps are likely to be more distressed, anxious, or depressed. In fact, dating app users face three times the amount of stress in comparison to non-users. This number increases if the dating app user is on dating apps more often (i.e., daily use) and for a longer period of time.

Poor Body Image

Online dating is also associated with poor body image or the use of unhealthy methods of weight loss, such as laxative use or anabolic steroids.

Despite this, there is evidence that online dating may actually help shape someone’s self-image. In one survey, online daters decided whether or not they would choose someone based mainly on whether they thought the person would be attracted to them.

This puts online daters in the position of constantly appraising themselves through the potentially critical eye of other daters.

Dating Apps Can Be Stressful, Here’s How to Cope

Those individuals who may have struggled with making connections in person or establishing romantic relationships with conventional dating appear to have an advantage within online dating.

Usage of this dating platform is higher among those who havesocial anxietyand those who haveautism spectrum disorder(ASD). Some researchers believe that the recent increase in the prevalence of ASD is due to greater reproductive success among those with the condition.

A hookup is defined as an uncommitted sexual encounter with a non-romantic partner. The exact rates of hookups are unknown, but this behavior is thought to be particularly common among those between the ages of 15 and 24.

Annually, this population is responsible for 50% of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and reports show that less than 50% of people use condoms during hookup encounters.

One interesting study attempts to understand how technology is impacting dating interactions. It compares online dating to conventional methods of meeting, such as at a bar or party.

Hookups are heavily associated with alcohol use, with over 70% of women between the ages of 18 and 29 reporting intoxication at the time of a hookup.This has the potential negative consequences of alcohol-related sexual behavior, such as an increased risk of sexual assault.

Meeting someone online significantly decreases alcohol use with partners and the perceived level of intoxication among women.

There appears to be no difference in the likelihood of an initial encounter becoming a hookup when comparing couples who met online to those who met at a bar or party. The main determining factor for the probability of a hookup occurring is the location of the initial meeting.

Final Thoughts

If you have a pre-existing mental health condition, you may want to discuss your dating experience with your healthcare provider given the potential risk of exacerbating symptoms and causing emotional distress. Always prioritize safety when dating online or in person.

Are Dating Apps Safe?

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pew Research Center.A profile of single Americans.Holtzhausen N, Fitzgerald K, Thakur I, Ashley J, Rolfe M, Pit SW.Swipe-based dating applications use and its association with mental health outcomes: A cross-sectional study.BMC Psychol. 2020;8(1):22. doi:10.1186/s40359-020-0373-1eHarmony.Future of dating 2016.Wilhite ER, Fromme K.Swiping right: Alcohol, online dating, and sexual hookups in postcollege women.Psychol Addict Behav. 2019;33(6):552-560. doi:10.1037/adb0000493Zlot Y, Goldstein M, Cohen K, Weinstein A.Online dating is associated with sex addiction and social anxiety.J Behav Addict. 2018;7(3):821-826. doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.66Whyte S, Torgler B.Preference versus choice in online dating.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2017;20(3):150-156. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0528Fullwood C, Attrill-Smith A.Up-dating: Ratings of perceived dating success are better online than offline.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2018;21(1):11-15. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0631Barros DM.Online dating, reproductive success and the rise autism spectrum disorder prevalence.Med Hypotheses. 2020;140:109679. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109679Dehne KL, Riedner G.Sexually transmitted infections among adolescents: the need for adequate health services.Reproductive Health Matters. 2001;9(17):170-183. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(01)90021-7

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pew Research Center.A profile of single Americans.Holtzhausen N, Fitzgerald K, Thakur I, Ashley J, Rolfe M, Pit SW.Swipe-based dating applications use and its association with mental health outcomes: A cross-sectional study.BMC Psychol. 2020;8(1):22. doi:10.1186/s40359-020-0373-1eHarmony.Future of dating 2016.Wilhite ER, Fromme K.Swiping right: Alcohol, online dating, and sexual hookups in postcollege women.Psychol Addict Behav. 2019;33(6):552-560. doi:10.1037/adb0000493Zlot Y, Goldstein M, Cohen K, Weinstein A.Online dating is associated with sex addiction and social anxiety.J Behav Addict. 2018;7(3):821-826. doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.66Whyte S, Torgler B.Preference versus choice in online dating.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2017;20(3):150-156. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0528Fullwood C, Attrill-Smith A.Up-dating: Ratings of perceived dating success are better online than offline.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2018;21(1):11-15. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0631Barros DM.Online dating, reproductive success and the rise autism spectrum disorder prevalence.Med Hypotheses. 2020;140:109679. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109679Dehne KL, Riedner G.Sexually transmitted infections among adolescents: the need for adequate health services.Reproductive Health Matters. 2001;9(17):170-183. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(01)90021-7

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Pew Research Center.A profile of single Americans.Holtzhausen N, Fitzgerald K, Thakur I, Ashley J, Rolfe M, Pit SW.Swipe-based dating applications use and its association with mental health outcomes: A cross-sectional study.BMC Psychol. 2020;8(1):22. doi:10.1186/s40359-020-0373-1eHarmony.Future of dating 2016.Wilhite ER, Fromme K.Swiping right: Alcohol, online dating, and sexual hookups in postcollege women.Psychol Addict Behav. 2019;33(6):552-560. doi:10.1037/adb0000493Zlot Y, Goldstein M, Cohen K, Weinstein A.Online dating is associated with sex addiction and social anxiety.J Behav Addict. 2018;7(3):821-826. doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.66Whyte S, Torgler B.Preference versus choice in online dating.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2017;20(3):150-156. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0528Fullwood C, Attrill-Smith A.Up-dating: Ratings of perceived dating success are better online than offline.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2018;21(1):11-15. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0631Barros DM.Online dating, reproductive success and the rise autism spectrum disorder prevalence.Med Hypotheses. 2020;140:109679. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109679Dehne KL, Riedner G.Sexually transmitted infections among adolescents: the need for adequate health services.Reproductive Health Matters. 2001;9(17):170-183. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(01)90021-7

Pew Research Center.A profile of single Americans.

Holtzhausen N, Fitzgerald K, Thakur I, Ashley J, Rolfe M, Pit SW.Swipe-based dating applications use and its association with mental health outcomes: A cross-sectional study.BMC Psychol. 2020;8(1):22. doi:10.1186/s40359-020-0373-1

eHarmony.Future of dating 2016.

Wilhite ER, Fromme K.Swiping right: Alcohol, online dating, and sexual hookups in postcollege women.Psychol Addict Behav. 2019;33(6):552-560. doi:10.1037/adb0000493

Zlot Y, Goldstein M, Cohen K, Weinstein A.Online dating is associated with sex addiction and social anxiety.J Behav Addict. 2018;7(3):821-826. doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.66

Whyte S, Torgler B.Preference versus choice in online dating.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2017;20(3):150-156. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0528

Fullwood C, Attrill-Smith A.Up-dating: Ratings of perceived dating success are better online than offline.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2018;21(1):11-15. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0631

Barros DM.Online dating, reproductive success and the rise autism spectrum disorder prevalence.Med Hypotheses. 2020;140:109679. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109679

Dehne KL, Riedner G.Sexually transmitted infections among adolescents: the need for adequate health services.Reproductive Health Matters. 2001;9(17):170-183. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(01)90021-7

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?