Study says couples who meet on dating apps are keen for commitment
Couples who met on apps were just as satisfied with the quality of the relationship and the quality of their lives as those who met in other circumstances, researchers found.
A new study has suggested that people who meet their partners on dating apps often have stronger long-term relationship goals, contrary to the popular belief that technology encourages casual encounters rather than commitment.
As part of the study which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, experts from Switzerland's University of Geneva (UNIGE) analysed 2018 family survey data and studied a sample of 3,235 adults who were in a relationship and had met their partner in the past 10 years.
This study provided a rich overview of couples who met through dating apps by addressing three main themes: Family formation intentions, relationship satisfaction and individual well-being; and assortative mating.
Researchers found that couples who met on an app were more motivated to live together than others. "The study doesn't say whether their final intention was to live together for the long- or short-term, but given that there's no difference in the intention to marry, and that marriage is still a central institution in Switzerland, some of these couples likely see cohabitation as a trial period prior to marriage," according to Gina Potarca, a researcher at the Institute of Demography and Socioeconomics in UNIGE's Faculty of Social Sciences.
According to researchers, women who met their partners through a dating app mentioned wanting and planning to have a child in the near future. The experts said this was more common in app romances than in other ways of meeting.
Couples who met on apps were just as satisfied with the quality of the relationship and the quality of their lives as those who met in other circumstances, researchers found. "The internet is profoundly transforming the dynamics of how people meet," Potarca said.
The study said that dating apps encourage "a mixing" of people with different levels of education, especially between high-educated women and lower educated men. Apps may also facilitate long-distance relationships, as users can connect with users more than 30 minutes away, she added.
"Knowing that dating apps have likely become even more popular during this year's periods of lockdown and social distancing, it is reassuring to dismiss alarming concerns about the long-term effects of using these tools," Potarca added.
