Not enough people are swiping right on my Tinder.
Maybe if I take my shirt off...
Welcome potential matches, I’m Julian here for DNews.
We talk a lot about the changing landscape of online dating because it’s a new way
for our species to interact and we’re curious about what this means for our collective future.
And because most of us haven’t given up on the idea of love yet.
One of the criticisms of online matchmaking is that it can be shallow, especially if you
use certain apps where you make a snap judgment about someone based on their appearance and
distance from you.
You know, Tinder.
But is it possible that shallow swiping could negatively affect how we feel about our bodies
and our self worth?
To find out, researchers from the University of North Texas surveyed 1,044 women and 273
men.
Why the disparity?
Because the study was primarily aimed at understanding how women were affected, though the researchers
did find some insight from the men.
The survey asked the participants to rate their own body image, psychological well being,
and their perceived objectification by others.
Lastly, they were also asked if they used Tinder.
About a tenth of those surveyed said they did and those Tinder users generally reported
lower levels of satisfaction with their faces and bodies than did their non-swiping counterparts.
Interestingly, only Tindering men reported lower levels of self-esteem.
Apparently the ladies of Tinder aren’t going to let a negative body image ruin their sense
of self-worth.
This lead researchers to conclude that men are just as affected by exploitation as women,
if not more so.
The findings were presented at the annual convention of the American Psychology Association
by Dr. Jessica Stübel, who coauthored the study.
Stübel suggested the correlation between Tinder and body dissatisfaction could be a
result of how the app works.
Tinder sort of exists in the Upside Down, you could call it a dating app or you could
call it a game, and the chief strategy officer of the company that owns Tinder describes
it exactly that way.
Heck, before I was on DNews I hosted a show that talked about Tinder, and why the gamification
of dating was a good thing because it encourages people to get out there and try and win.
But some players may have realized that in order to win a game that’s so focused on
looks, their best strategy is to be attractive.
Even worse, as they’re swiping left through stacks of photos, it may dawn on them that
others are doing the same to their picture.
In the dating game they have effectively become an NPC, and nobody wants to be an NPC.
That is one possible explanation, but of course it’s not the only one.
Stübel also speculated that people with lower self esteem could gravitate towards Tinder
as a means of validation.
Of course, as with all surveys like this, it’s impossible to tell if Tinder leads
to low self esteem or if low self esteem leads to Tinder.
There have been a bevy of studies about how couples that meet online fare, compared to
people who used the old-fashioned method of dumb luck to find their soulmate, - spoiler
alert: married couples who met online seem to do a little better.
But not a lot of research has looked into how online dating makes us feel about ourselves.
You know the line, “More research is needed.”
Incidentally putting that in your Tinder bio is a guarantee swipe right…
By me… you’ve been warned.
If you like the game part of Tinder you could take it a step farther and date a video game
character.
Seeker Stories covers what it’s like to have a virtual relationship here.
And if you haven’t found the perfect partner who isn’t made of 1s and 0s, is it better
to settle or be forever alone?
Julia and Trace tell you what science has to say in this episode.
So would you risk feeling less satisfied with your appearance if it meant striking a match?
Wait is that why it’s called Tinder?
I just got that!