New Research from Monash University, the University of Melbourne and the University of Tasmania has suggested Tinder is a “new tool in young Australian intimate life”.
The study, which features over 200 survey responses and ten interviews, investigated how 18-30 year old Australians used the app in their day-to-day lives.
67% indicated they used Tinder for 15 minutes or less in a typical day. The remaining 33% used Tinder for 30 minutes a day or more.
Meeting new people was found to be the most important motivation for using Tinder among both genders. Relationships were the second motivation.
The third motivation for men was sex, whereas for women it was simply chatting. Sex was the least common motivation for women, while men rarely used the app for friendship.
Concerning the perceptions of how far Tinder has altered intimate lives, the study states: “Both men and women felt their dating practices, personal relationship establishment and perception of intimacy had been, at most, moderately altered, with all categories receiving a mean score of less than 5.
“While mean scores in respect to personal relationship establishment, and perception of intimacy, were relatively similar for both men and women, women identified Tinder as having a greater impact on their dating practices than men did.”
The research also discusses a ‘merging’ of online and offline worlds. Location-based apps like Tinder are not an ‘online space’ in the same was as other social networks, and are better classified as something akin to augmented reality.
Lastly, connections made via Tinder were subject to an authenticity problem – participants often felt different types of interactions were typical of Tinder matches and non-Tinder meetings.
The study concludes: “Ultimately, Tinder constitutes a change within intimate life but one that does not appear to guarantee a change in intimate life outcomes for all users.”
Read more here.