Table 2.
Patterns of App Use and Non-use (N = 437)
| Characteristics | N(%) |
|---|---|
| Users (n = 129) | |
| Frequency of SBDA Use | Frequency n (%) |
| Less than once a week | 40 (31.0%) |
| Once a week or more but less than daily | 55 (42.6%) |
| Daily | 34 (26.4%) |
| Duration of Use (missing = 1) | |
| ≤ 12 months | 62 (48.1%) |
| More than a year | 66 (51.2%) |
| Most-Used SBDAs | |
| Tinder | 129 (100%) |
| Bumble | 61 (47.3%) |
| Plenty Of Fish | 10 (7.8%) |
| Grindr | 8 (6.2%) |
| Coffee Meets Bagel | 8 (6.2%) |
| Users & Past Users (n = 230) | |
| Number of people met face-to-face | Frequency n (%) |
| 0 | 52 (22.6%) |
| 1–2 | 65 (28.3%) |
| 3–5 | 53 (23.0%) |
| > 5 | 60 (26.1%) |
| Number of serious relationships | |
| None | 140 (60.9%) |
| One or more | 90 (39.1%) |
| How do you feel that the use of dating apps has impacted your self-esteem? | |
| Positive | 93 (40.4%) |
| No impact | 71 (30.0%) |
| Negative | 66 (28.7%) |
| Non-Users & Past Users (n = 308) | |
| Reasons for not using or no longer using dating applications (missing = 8) | Frequency n (%) |
| Not looking for a relationship | 201 (67.0%) |
| Prefer to meet people in other ways | 94 (31.3%) |
| Don’t trust people to be honest online | 33 (11.0%) |
| Don’t cater for the kind of relationship I want | 30 (10.0%) |
| Negative social stigma | 20 (6.7%) |
| Other | 9 (3.0%) |
| I don’t think I will match with anyone | 12 (4.0%) |
| Previous bad experience | 1 (0.3%) |
| Where people meet past partners other than SBDA (missing = 8) | |
| Through work/university/school | 146 (48.7%) |
| Through mutual friends | 112 (37.3%) |
| Through church or hobbies | 37 (12.3%) |
| At bars/clubs or other social venues | 30 (10.0%) |
| Other | 30 (10.0%) |
| At parks/libraries/other public places | 6 (2.0%) |