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posted by martyb on Saturday September 08 2018, @03:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the post-traumatic-swipe-disorder dept.

Are 'swipe left' dating apps bad for our mental health?

Dating apps have taken the world by storm, but has the trend for swiping right or left to like or reject potential matches contributed to many people's unhappiness and low self-esteem?

Following the end of her last relationship, Kirsty Finlayson, 28, did what many people do - she turned to dating apps to find love. But the incessant swiping and the stream of small-talk conversations that soon fizzle out left her feeling dejected. "Dating apps have definitely increased my anxiety," admits Kirsty, a solicitor who lives in London. "It fuels the idea of a disposable society where people can match, date once, and not give it much effort," she says. "I find it difficult to distinguish between those who are just using it as a way of passing time on their commute or ego-boosting and those who actually are looking for something serious."

[...] Despite the huge popularity of dating apps - and the millions of success stories worldwide - many users report that some apps make them feel low and experience self doubt. [...] Such experiences echo the results of a study two years ago by the University of North Texas, which found that male Tinder users reported lower levels of satisfaction with their faces and bodies and lower levels of self worth than those not on the dating app.

Trent Petrie, professor of psychology at the University of North Texas and co-author of the research, says: "With a focus on appearance and social comparisons, individuals can become overly sensitised to how they look and appear to others and ultimately begin to believe that they fall short of what is expected of them in terms of appearance and attractiveness. "We would expect them to report higher levels of distress, such as sadness and depression, and feel more pressures to be attractive and thin."

Earlier this year a poll of 200,000 iPhone users by non-profit organisation Time Well Spent found that dating app Grindr topped a list of apps that made people feel most unhappy, with 77% of users admitting it made them feel miserable. Tinder was in ninth place.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by anubi on Saturday September 08 2018, @05:46AM

    by anubi (2828) on Saturday September 08 2018, @05:46AM (#732064) Journal

    They would sure look the other way if I came around wouldn't they. Old diesel van.

    But you know, that thing would take a lot of trips to our national parks, room for the kids and animals. And be tolerant of messes and accidents. You know, puppies and kids grow by leaks and bounds.

    A child playing and striking the van with his bike or toy? What? Yet another dent? Along with all the rest? Oh well, it still runs fine. I would rather spend my time with other things rather than fussing over a little scratch here and there. Besides, if she wants the kind of guy that stuff like that matters so much to, then she better not get old! She'll be traded in just as fast as last year's model too!

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
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