Future of Sex
tagline
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • Remote Sex
  • Virtual Sex & Entertainment
  • Robots
  • Human Augmentation
  • Sex Tech
  • Dating & Relationships
  • Bizarre Bazaar 18+
  • Future of Sex Community
  • More To Love: North American, European, And Australian Polyamory Support Groups

  • A Day to Come: Imaging What Your Sexlife Might Be Like in the Not-To-Distant Future

  • Arms Enough for Love: The Erotic Possibilities Extra Limbs, More Thumbs May Hand Us

  • Hot Times Ahead: Tomorrow’s Male Contraceptives May Be More About Temperature, Less About Drugs

  • This Bot’s in Love With You—Sincerely or Merely a Revenue Strategy?

  • 10 Best Masturbation Sites on the Web

  • Oh, Canada! Newest, Sexiest Hotel Room in the World Is Just Across the US/Canadian Border

  • Machinery of Joy: Is AI Already Making Sexwork Obsolete?

Future of Sex is supported by our readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Home > Dating & Relationships > Should You Swipe Right on the Growing Trend? The Pros and Cons of Top Dating Apps

Dating & Relationships
Home›Dating & Relationships›Should You Swipe Right on the Growing Trend? The Pros and Cons of Top Dating Apps

Should You Swipe Right on the Growing Trend? The Pros and Cons of Top Dating Apps

By Connor Leshner
January 31, 2020
2678
2

Tinder, Bumble, and others changed the dating world, but is it all for the best?

Dating App

Dating apps have changed the world in more ways than even the greatest minds could have predicted.

Instead of approaching someone in person, you can swipe right on their dating profile or the profile of thousands of people in your general vicinity. 

There are even some dating apps dedicated to specific subsets of the population to best serve underserved groups, such as lesbian and trans communities. On the surface, the growth and spread of dating apps has benefited a lot of people; however, there are many negatives worth considering for both users and those considering apps. 

While this list is not exhaustive of all the positives and negatives that dating apps present, we hope it gives you a  good introduction to how more than 10 million people worldwide are looking for love on a daily basis.  

The positives

1. Dating apps connect people who would otherwise never meet

Dating apps are remarkable websites for connection. One way to think about the way dating apps achieve bringing people together is by thinking of one’s daily routine: If someone goes to work or goes to the same coffee shop at the same time on the same days, they can really only meet people on the same schedule or people who are early or late from their normal schedules. 

Meeting someone in this way requires luck, charisma, or for the person to already be part of one’s social circle, which is also not feasible for everyone. Dating apps make it so meeting someone is not serendipity, but instead reasonable, as both people declare how far they are willing to go to meet someone. 

No longer is someone required “to go to the ends of the earth” to find a partner when their soulmate frequents the coffee shop down the street.

2. Dating apps help mitigate issues related to “love-shyness” 

Love-shyness is one’s inability to approach someone to ask them on a date or for a relationship. Reasons for love-shyness might include being anxious in social situations, fear of rejection, or low self-esteem. 

Dating apps allow one to skip approaching someone in person and instead allows them to indicate interest with just a quick right-swipe on a phone screen. As well, because every profile has multiple pictures and a short biography that the user can curate, there is little guessing about who someone is when using a dating app. 

Lastly, because many dating apps are entirely text-based, it is easier for someone with love-shyness to communicate with an app than in-person. Because of the combination of these aspects, someone with love-shyness can engage in dating and learn everything they need to be successful daters.

3. Dating apps have succeeded in having a large pool of potential partners

Not only can users find partners outside their regular circles, talk with people easily where and talk with someone there is already mutual interest, but there is also a near-infinite pool of users. 

Dating apps have succeeded in marketing to people all over the world, and the response has allowed for dating apps to have someone for everyone. While this benefits the bottom line of the business, it also benefits the people who want the highest chance possible to find their partner.

Dating

The negatives

1. Dating apps may enable digital stalking

While arguably less-dangerous than real-life stalking, digital stalking is something that people should be wary of when creating a dating profile. Dating app profiles can have a lot of identifying information, including first name, location, place of work, university and pictures they use on social media. 

All of this information can be plugged into Facebook to quickly and easily find someone’s personal info. Once someone’s personal social media is found, the outcome can be anywhere from annoying to dangerous, depending on the individual doing the stalking. With a large pool of users with their own motives for using the app, it is safer to have as little identifying information as possible. 

2. Dating app data is used for marketing and research

While only the people who work for the companies know exactly how the data is used, some apps have been more forthcoming with their results than others. 

A study from OKCupid in 2015 sparked outrage when they published results on a survey measuring race and attractiveness, which they later took down. This data was gathered without explicit permission from its users. 

While the terms of service allowed for this data to be gathered, this is not the only time that dating app data has been used to learn about its users.

According to a recent report, Tinder, OKCupid, Grindr, and Happn all sell user data to advertisers. While selling data is becoming a recurring story with social media apps, it is worthwhile to know which apps are selling data and how that data is being used.

3. Dating app users are applying for jobs where your love life is the recruiter

his last point is probably best known as “catfishing”, or lying on a dating profile to get people to swipe right on you. This can include anywhere from exaggerating one’s biography or manipulating photos to outright lying or using someone else’s photos. 

Some might argue that the point of dating apps is to stretch the truth because it is hard for many to sound interesting on paper without making a few small lies. But lying will often sabotage the first time two people meet in person because the interests may not overlap as well as was expected, or the person who looked 25 in their photos was really closer to 50. 

While many of these experiences will often just lead to a bad date, some catfish may be lying to lure their dates into false senses of security. This is why the first meeting should always be done in public, so even if the date is bad, the person who is catfished can make it home safely. 

Dating apps in the future

Dating apps have changed the way we date, so learning about them is important for understanding how society works. Their existence means that dating needed to evolve, and its evolution has allowed for relationships that would have never existed to blossom. 

Every reader knows someone who met a partner on a dating app, and perhaps they have already tried using a dating app or will try it in the future. It is important to keep oneself safe too, and knowing the risks of online dating are important when entering that space. 

Dating apps are not a perfect response to the individual issues of dating, and once people actually meet in-person, a dating app cannot do much more. With that said, dating apps have made dating and first impressions a lot easier, and for that reason, they are worth using.

Image Source: nodstrum, Андрей Миропольский

Connor Leshner

Connor Leshner is a graduate student at the University of Victoria, studying how people connect both through and with technology. His work focuses on dating apps, sex technology, and relationships that break the status quo. Currently, he is researching how people may be interested in AI partners in the future, such as if people will want artificial friends, romance, or sex partners.

As an undergraduate at Arizona State University, Connor completed undergraduate degrees in Psychology, Sociology and a minor in Women & Gender Studies in 2018. He also graduated with honors, completing his thesis understanding how cosplay plays a role in relationship differences. For this thesis, he was awarded with his department’s award in applied social psychology, and his honor college’s gold standard research award.

As a graduate student, Connor has won awards for his research and excellence in presentation. He has given talks on speed-dating, hentai, and different groups such as bronies, furries, and anime fans. He has also written or co-written multiple papers, including papers comparing polyamory to dyadic relationships, how playing characters might affect one’s identity, and more.
Previous Article

How ‘Virginity Pills’ Reveal Sex Tech’s Shameful ...

Next Article

Female-led Sex Tech Company, Once Banned from ...

Related articles More from author

  • Dating & Relationships

    The Seven Days of Swiping, Day 7: Fetlife, a Social Network for Kinksters and Fetishists

    February 14, 2020
    By Connor Leshner
  • Animation of a robot on moon surface
    Dating & RelationshipsVirtual Sex & Entertainment

    VR Dating in 50 Years: Meet Sexy Robots on the Moon and Mermaid Girlfriends?

    September 3, 2021
    By Jenna Owsianik
  • Decorative image of two hands reaching towards each other. On one, you can see a wedding ring. The other is holding a black paper heart.
    Dating & RelationshipsVirtual Sex & Entertainment

    Will Sexual Desire Fade in the Metaverse Like it Does in Traditional Marriages?

    July 25, 2022
    By Karley Sciortino
  • Dating & RelationshipsRobotsSex TechVirtual Sex & EntertainmentImmersive Entertainment

    Tell Me No Lies: The Controversy Over Erotic Chatbots Continues

    January 22, 2024
    By A.R. Marsh, Ed.D.
  • Image of Three Statues Holding their Hands
    Dating & Relationships

    Why We Love Who We Do: Using Computer Simulation to Understand Mate Selection

    May 7, 2021
    By M. Christian
  • Dating & RelationshipsSex Tech

    People Love Sexting and LGBTQ Folks Are More Likely to Use Dating Apps, Global Survey Reveals

    August 23, 2017
    By M. Christian

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • censorsing adult content
    Sex TechVirtual Sex & Entertainment

    Why SESTA/FOSTA Bans Adult Content in Private Email Newsletters

  • AugmentationSex Tech

    6 Femtech Gadgets Making Family Planning Easier

  • Sex Games for Mac
    Virtual Sex & EntertainmentVirtual Sex

    The Best Sex Games for Mac [UPDATED]

Virtual Lust is a 3D interactive sex game.
3DXChat
Discover the best virtual sex parties and 3D sex worlds.
  • TOP REVIEWS

  • Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    Review of the Best Massively Multiplayer Online Sex Games

    0
  • Harmony ai sex doll from RealDoll

    State of the Sexbot Market: The World’s Best Sex Robot and AI Sex Doll Companies ...

  • Realistic Sex Games

    Review of the Best Sex Games and Most Realistic Sex Simulators [UPDATED]

    0
  • Screenshot of a sexbot from adult entertainment game

    The Best Adult Games on Steam [UPDATED]

  • Screenshot of FeelConnect app future of interactivity intimacy available on Apple and Google Store

    The Best Sex Game Apps for Couples [UPDATED]

Fantasy sex game Dream Sex World lets you explore your wildest desires.
Multiplayer sex world Red Light Center continues to impress with its massive userbase and incredible sex graphics.
A blonde and light-skinned love doll face sppears next to the text Go now realdollxthe future is real.

Like Us on Facebook

Newsletter Subscription

Sign up for our monthly newsletter sharing the very best of the future of sex from our publication and others across the web.

DreamSexWorld offers a stunning XXX 3D world filled with incredibly interactive erotic experiences.

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

RLC_ad_v2

Tweets by @FutureofSex
Future of Sex Report

Follow us

  • Home
  • About
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contribute
  • Story Ideas
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2011 - 2022 Future Exploration Network
This website or its third-party tools use cookies to improve user experience and track affiliate sales. To learn more about why we need to use cookies, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

By clicking the agree button or continuing to browse through the website, you agree to the use of cookies. Accept Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT