Texas State lecturer investigates how dating apps impact user behavior

Mobile matchmaking: Dating apps latest in long line of romance facilitators

 

Valentine's Day is considered by many the most romantic day of the year, but those not in a current relationship may feel left out. Unattached singles may be tempted to remedy the situation by turning to mobile dating apps.

They're not alone—apps such as Tinder, Bumble, OKCupid and the like have matched millions of members and gained widespread popularity, regardless of the season. Much of this comes from the clever user interfaces. The ubiquitous "swipe left, swipe right" actions make the apps feel more like playing a game than searching for a date.

"If you look at it from a historic perspective, third party assistance for relationship building has always been around," said Jessica James, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. "People would seek out matchmakers, and from there we transitioned into newspaper 'personals' ads, which, for the most part, weren't really taken seriously. But the fact that they existed shows that people do like to turn to alternative sources for courtship and finding a significant other. I think it's a natural progression that online dating and mobile applications have become synonymous with Millennials and the smart phone generation."

The modern rise of dating apps has become James' area of expertise. Her master's thesis, "Mobile Dating in the Digital Age: Computer-Mediated Communication and Relationship Building on Tinder," focused on the gamification of mobile dating and its effect on user behavior. She also authored a chapter on the topic for Sex in the Digital Age, published in 2017 by Ashgate Publishing, and was featured in the Sept. 2018 issue of Wired magazine.

Despite broad interest in the use of dating apps, very little research has been conducted on whether the use of dating apps varies seasonally, James said. Couples have been known to tie it to life events, such as making jokes on their wedding day about originally meeting via Tinder, but there's no evidence to suggest the use of Tinder or other services increases or decreases around Valentine's Day.

"You have to think about the demographics. For younger generations, I don't think there would be a spike in usage around Valentine's Day, given that people's use of mobile dating apps is so laissez faire," James said. "But other research supports the idea that people who use desktops to utilize online dating sites like Match, eHarmony, things like that, tend to be a little older and therefore they're a little more invested in the process.

"I think it shows how the ethos of society is changing, too. We're relying on smartphones for everyday tasks. For example, when you go to the grocery store, there's an app you can use to select your groceries. It creates a gamified experience, much like online dating," she said. "The majority of the research I've looked into focuses on how design plays a role in the process. Does how the experience is displayed in that mobile application have any impact on our perceptions or beliefs or attitudes about meaningful relationships? Are we telling the technology what to do, or is the technology telling us what to do? That's an interesting question."