Relationship Between Use of Online Dating Apps and Mental Well-Being in Young Adults

Technology and social media use are steadily becoming the preferred way to form and maintain relationships. A large majority of young adult populations investing time and energy into dating applications to meet romantic partners. Research has identified that there are many benefits, but also many risks, to using technology. It is important to identify the potential negative outcomes that dating app users may face and inform mental health professionals who can create proper preventive measures and treatment plans when working with clients. This study addresses the gap in the literature about some of the potential relationships between negative mental health states and frequency of using dating apps, as well as examining the potential differences gender plays on these relationships. This quantitative research study was completed using an online survey. The final results of 80 participants were analyzed using correlations and t-tests to examine the differences between high and low app users in reported self-esteem and burnout as well as differences between genders inn self-esteem and burnout. Dating app use had a significant positive correlation with self-esteem, and significant difference in means was identified between high and low app users as well as between genders when it came to reported self-esteem. There were no significant correlations or differences found as it related to the variable of burnout. Future research should continue exploring the impact that frequency of dating app use has on mental health outcomes as well as further study the variable of burnout as it relates to use of swipe-based applications.