Age, Gender, and Sexual Orientation and Their Effects on Online Dating Motivations

Online dating and dating apps are becoming more common as a means to meet a romantic or sexual partner (e.g. Rosenfeld, Thomas, & Hausen, 2019). Previous literature on the motivations for why people use dating apps and how they differ among participants of varying age, gender, and sexual orientation has not allowed for comparisons across these groups, or shows conflicting findings. In order to consolidate existing literature and further explore the topic, I conducted both a meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. The meta-analysis demonstrated a gender difference in the motivation of casual sex, such that men scored higher than women. The meta-synthesis showed that there was a variety of motivations for why people used dating apps, and this may be affected by dating app type and cultural values. Taken together, these findings show a need for more rigorous statistical reporting standards and a possible revisitation of popular scales used for dating app motivations.