Trending News: Study reveals new insight on dating app cheaters
Are you in a mutually exclusive relationship? Do you ever wonder if the person you are with is still using the dating apps, “looking” around for someone new? Have you chalked your suspicions up to silly paranoia?
Well, a recent study published in Computers and Human Behavior suggests your concerns aren’t as crazy as you might think. That’s because the results revealed 18-25% of users who are on Tinder and similar apps also happen to be in committed relationships.
That’s a lot of people, don’t you think?
The Study
Investigators surveyed 1,486 Tinder users about their motives for using the app, along with their experiences. More than 300 participants (22.4%) admitted to tapping on Tinder, even though they were in an exclusive relationship.
FYI: 59.5% were female and 40.5% were male.
Related: Should I take back my cheating girlfriend?
A little more than half of the participants who were in exclusive relationships revealed going on Tinder with the goal of meeting someone new.
So, were the non-single Tinder users swiping to jack up their egos or were they getting something more? According to the results of the study, here is the breakdown:
Non-Single Tinder Users
- 3% indicated they had frenched kissed one or more people they had met on the app.
- 5% revealed they had one or more “one-night stands” with another app user.
- 3% of respondents indicated they have had “casual-sexual relationships” [aka no strings attached].
- 2% used the app for making new friends.
- 60% had one or more romantic relationships via Tinder [while already agreeing to be exclusive to one person].
Guy Counseling was curious about the findings of this study and spoke to Frank Moore, a licensed psychotherapist in Chicago who works with individuals and couples.
“Dating has become so much like shopping, similar Amazon, that people have become conditioned to continually look for attention, and affection – electronically. It’s also somewhat addictive because so many of these dating apps act as tools for instant validation.”
Related: Can you love two at once?
Obviously, there are limitations to the study. These include not knowing how long participants were in their respective exclusive relationships and inherent problems that go along with defining infidelity.
Still, the study does help to shed light on the behaviors of some dating app users.
The research, “Why are you cheating on tinder? Exploring users’ motives and (dark) personality traits“, was led by Elisabeth Timmermans with Elien De Caluwé, and Cassandra Alexopoulos as coauthors.
Are you in a committed relationship and on a dating app? What’s your motivation?
