CAPSTONE

RESEARCH
PROJECT
2021
 CAPSTONE RESEARCH PROJECT

Certificate
AMRUT MODY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

This is to certify that Capstone project report on

Love at First Swipe - A study of Online Dating

Application Usage and Experience

is submitted by the member of

Group No.- 67

as part of the requirements for the paper of

Capstone Project in the Third Year of the

Bachelor of Business Administration Programme

2020-2021

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Group Members

Roll No Name
Sr. No.

1 1811001 JUMDE AYUSHI SHASHIKANTH

2 1811165 JAIN ISHIKA DEEPAK

3 1811067 GOGIA VARUN

4 1813016 SHAH RUHI SHEKHAR

5 1811156 SHAH KRIS SANDIP

JALAN VEDANSHI ANOOP

6 1811222
(GROUP CO-ORDINATOR)

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Acknowledgement
This research paper has provided us with the opportunity to learn details and information regarding
the usage and application of dating applications in India It was an experience of blending the
concepts learned in classroom into real life situations. This term paper has helped us in gaining
optimum experience during a short valuable tenure and is dedicated to all the people who helped
us in collecting the information and taught us valuable lessons. We take immense pleasure in taking
this as an opportunity to thank all those people for their support which has made it possible for us
to complete this research paper successfully.

First and foremost, we would like to thank Ahmedabad University for providing us with the huge
platform for doing this Capstone Project.

We are thankful to Prof. Aravind Panicker for providing us constant support from the institute.
Our deepest gratitude to our mentor who, in spite of, his busy schedule has provided us with
invaluable guidance, support and directions which enabled us during all stages of this research
paper.

Finally, we would like to convey our deepest regard to everyone who has directly or indirectly
helped us in accomplishing this project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 6
RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................................................. 8
LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 12
MOTIVATORS TO USE DATING APPLICATIONS ......................................................................... 12
EXPECTATIONS FROM DATING APPLICATIONS ........................................................................ 15
ONLINE DATING TODAY? ................................................................................................................ 17
SATISFACTION AFTER USING A DATING APPLICATION .......................................................... 19
THE SOCIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS OF DATING ......................................... 21
DOES VALIDATION ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AFFECT ONE’S PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL IDENTITY OFFLINE? ........................................................................................................... 22
IS ONLINE DATING SEEN AS TABOO IN CERTAIN FAMILIES? ................................................ 24
DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 27
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS .............................................................................................................. 27
THEMATIC ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................... 28
GOOGLE FORM DISCUSSION: GENERIC QUESTIONS .................................................................... 30
DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 30
FREQUENCY OF USAGE.................................................................................................................... 31
WHICH DATING APP DO YOU USE? ............................................................................................... 32
WHAT FEATURE OF THE DATING PROFILE INTERESTS YOU THE MOST? ........................... 34
RECOMMENDING DATING APPS TO OTHERS & OVERALL SATISFACTION ......................... 36
FACTOR ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................... 39
MOTIVATION FACTOR ANALYSIS ................................................................................................. 39
EXPECTATION FACTOR ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 42
SATISFACTION FACTOR ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 45
COMBINED FACTOR ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................... 48
HYPOTHESIS TESTING .......................................................................................................................... 53
RESEARCH GAPS .................................................................................................................................... 54
LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 55
SUGGESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 56
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 57
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 60

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ANNEXURE .............................................................................................................................................. 63
Exhibit – 1: GOOGLE FORM: QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................................. 63
Exhibit – 2: Factor Analysis of Motivation Set ...................................................................................... 69
Exhibit – 3: Factor Analysis of Satisfaction Set ..................................................................................... 71
Exhibit – 4: Factor Analysis of all sets combined .................................................................................. 73
Exhibit – 5: Factors derived from Factor loadings (combined set) ........................................................ 76
Exhibit – 6: Graphs ................................................................................................................................ 79
Exhibit – 7: Transcript – Online Dating Interviews ............................................................................... 83

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INTRODUCTION

We humans are social creatures. Since the start of our time, we found the need to form romantic
relations to make us feel accepted and loved in a society. With this urge to form relationships,
came a small challenge which was to find an appropriate partner with whom we could form a
relationship. The presence of this challenge created a need for us to seek for help to find partners.
From Sage Valmiki’s Ramayana where Sita holds a competitive Svayamvara to find the smartest
and the strongest prince to marry (Roy, 2018), to the traditional Iranian custom of Khastegari
which is a part of the courtship period before marriage, or the overarching relevance of arranged-
marriages in South-East Asia and the Middle East, we see a millennia old tradition where romantic
relationships do not rise from the chance meeting of two random strangers, but are facilitated
through third party interventions (Coontz, 2005). When we say ‘third party interventions’, the way
through which they facilitated the meeting of two people was fairly simple. These third parties had
a strong, broad and diverse social network, these people were highly opinionated about what kind
of people belong together to form a successful relationship and were willing enough to align their
judgements about the people they knew to form actual relationships (Ahuvia, 2009). Then and
now, of the most common ways through which this intermediation takes place is through common-
friends. These can be common friends of our friends or common friends of our family members,
and sometimes even our distant friends and family (Rosenfeld, Thomas, & Hausen, 2019).

Our history of being social creatures is not the only reason behind us forming these relationships,
but one other major reason is that the relations we share with the people around us makes us feel
like we are a part of a community, and this idea of ‘inclusivity’ creates the foundation for us to
find a purpose. Young adults (aged between 18 to 25) often use their relationship statuses with
people around them (romantic and otherwise) as a way to form their own individual identities
(Joseph, 2008). The contemporary era that we find ourselves in, the need to form such relationships
still endures, and so does the underlying challenge associated with it. While the need remains
constant, the resources through which people used to seek help have potentially changed in this
day and age. In the last couple of decades, the world has experienced exponential technological
growth. Everything and anything is just a simple click away from us, and it is no different in the
case of finding casual dates or potential partners with whom we can form romantic relations. Today

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the “field of eligibles” (Kerckhoff, 1964) is not limited to the connections and contacts of our near
and dear ones, but it is a free-flowing territory. Online Dating Applications have made it easier for
people to meet and interact. Not only it serves an increased number of “potential partners/dates”
to its users on a silver plate, but it also provides the users with an opportunity to meet and interact
with people that they might not have possibly interacted with in their lives, if not for the application
to match them. This curiosity to meet and interact with a bunch of random strangers substantially
turns out to be a driving factor for people to use such applications.

Online dating applications have fundamentally affected traditional in-person dating. Apart from
leaving an individual’s dating fate on a mathematically run algorithm, online dating has made the
approach towards dating more evaluative, where people can go through hundreds of profiles of
potential date-mates and filter out their choices based on their personal requirements and criteria’s.
This has also resulted in creating an increased number of expectations that people hold from these
applications. These expectations range from wanting more matches and options, finding people of
certain physical appearance, making the process more convenient and time-saving, wanting the
liberty to set a particular level and type of intimacy that they expect to receive from their partner
and fulling other emotional, personal or sexual requirements.

Modern Romance has multiple facets to it. One facet is casual hook-ups that do not lead to any
kind of a serious relationship. Whereas the other facet is to find a like-minded “match” from a pool
of potential candidates. There are countless other facets that lead to diverse kinds of expectations
which lead to diverse kinds of satisfactions and dissatisfactions that stem from a myriad of reasons.
This diversity of satisfaction and dissatisfaction ranges from good/bad in-person meet ups,
good/bad chat experience, not getting enough matches, or finding too many potential partners
which lead to a state of blissful confusion.

Summing it up, the given paper will try to study three distinct variables which are (a) the motivators
that lead an individual to use a dating application (b) the expectations of an individual from a
dating application and (c) the satisfaction one receives after their online dating application usage.
Through this paper, we will study each of these variables individually to understand their impacts
on not only the users of the dating application but the experience of dating in itself. We will also
try to find out common links between these factors and see whether one variable has influence
over the other variables.

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RESEARCH DESIGN

The given research is going to try to study the (a) motivation to use a dating application (b)
expectation from a dating application and (c) satisfaction received after using a dating application.
To study the given variables and build our research, we would use both, primary and secondary
data. Primary data would help us understand the scope and relevance of these variables real-time
by indulging in conversations with people who have used or are currently using social media
applications. The secondary data will help us create the backbone of this research which will help
us in analyzing and framing our primary data. We would be conducting a thorough literature
review of all the existing researches done in the scope of online dating applications and the
relevance of the variables stated above in the given industry for our secondary data analysis.

For the Primary Data analysis, we conducted personal interviews and a survey. The group has
interviewed 35 individuals from different cities across India, who are aged between 18 to 25. These
interviews were taken remotely via telephonic conversations and other computer mediated
communication mediums such as video calls. The transcripts of these interviews have been added
in the annexure section of the research (annexure 2). The interviews followed a standard script
where three main questions were asked to the people. The answers that we received from the
people helped us frame a basic set of variables that affected an individual’s motivation,
satisfaction, and expectations. To access the table of variables that was created post the analysis
of all the transcripts, check the annexure (annexure 4). These variables further helped us design
statements for our Likert Scale questions for the questionnaire.

For our survey, we had created a questionnaire with around 10 questions. The questionnaire was
shared via social media and email to people aged between 18 to 25 years. We collated around 250
responses on our questionnaire. To access the questionnaire and the sample size calculation, find
them in the annexure (annexure 1 and 3 respectively). The questionnaire constituted of questions
based on the Likert Scale and Demographics. We used factor analysis to further study the responses
received on our Likert scale questions.

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The questionnaire is designed in such a manner in which it can directly help us to test our
hypothesis. For testing each hypothesis individually, the questions have been designed in separate
sets for the analysis to accept or reject the hypothesis.

• H0: The factors that motivate an individual to join a dating application would affect their
expectations from the application.

• H1: The factors that motivate an individual to join a dating application would not affect their
expectations from the application.

With our first hypothesis, we are trying to if motivators directly affect the expectations that an
individual has from dating applications or not. For example, if the motivation to join an online
dating application was to avail an array of options through which one can choose a partner with
just a few clicks, would that affect their expectations from the relationship? In terms of whether
getting the option to get multiple partners mean that they are casually looking for people in the
short run, or they are actually behind a meaningful relationship in the long run.
The second hypothesis that we set for our research was based on the variables of expectation and
satisfaction.
• H0: The expectations of an individual from a dating application affects their satisfaction and
experience.
• H2: The expectations of an individual from a dating application does not affect their
satisfaction and experience.
The second hypothesis helps us study the correlation between the above stated variables.

Hence, the questions in the questionnaires are framed precisely to communicate the research
problems, and to analyze the motivators, expectations, and satisfaction of the consumers in online
dating applications. Questions are scaled on the basis of interval scale and nominal scales for the
convenience of statistical data.

For our Secondary Data analysis,

Secondary data refers to the type of data which already exists and not collected by the primary
user or researcher. In order to understand the topic better, an extensive literature review was done.

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That helped in enlightening the aspects that we want to research with respect to the topic. To collect
the related primary data, we have researched articles and papers from reputed websites, journals,
and newspapers of authors who came from a credible source. Many which we reviewed did not
come from an Indian perspective, but in a way, that helped us gain a global perspective and
furthermore, tests those theories in the Indian context. We had to be mindful that our secondary
data has to be in accordance with our primary research as it was based out of Indian context.

In order to fulfil the need for secondary data, we aim to go through multiple existing papers and
articles written in the area of Online Dating Application and Consumer Perception, Engagement,
and Satisfaction. We will go through around 35 to 40 articles and research papers to strengthen
our research background.

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THE RESEARCH DESIGN FLOWCHART

The research design is further classified into two

categories: Exploratory and Conclusive research
design. Exploratory research is more to do with
qualitative study while conclusive research is
associated with quantitative study.
Our research paper will follow the exploratory
research design as this type of qualitative study
provides insight and understanding of the problem
setting. The research procedure is flexible and
sample is small and representative. Data analysis is
qualitative and the findings are tentative. The
outcomes are generally followed by further
exploratory or conclusive research. This type of
research further helps in isolating key variables and
relationships for examination. It would also help in
gaining insight for developing an approach to the
particular issue. However, we also will be using
some quantitative methods and tools for our survey
analysis. (Nguyen, 2017). We will be using
secondary data which can be located quickly and
inexpensively along with primary data like fieldwork
and conducting survey. Summing up, our basic
Research flow will be designing methodology on the
basis of the literature review and research paper.
Along with that, designing data gathering tools like
Excel for presenting data and use statistical tools to
present the data and analyze it further for presenting
our findings on the basis of our survey.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

MOTIVATORS TO USE DATING APPLICATIONS

Online dating was first invented by a student names Andrew Conru. He started the site named Web
Personals which was run by Grad students from Stanford. Since then, this phenomenon was taken
the entire globe by storm and has become extremely popular in the present. There are innumerable
websites and applications which can be used for this purpose. The most popular ones are Tinder,
Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid and the list goes on and on. One of the major aspects that we will focus
on with respect to online dating is the motivational aspects related to it. We need to understand the
various factors that motivate an individual to go online and swipe left or right in order to connect
with someone.

These dating applications are most commonly used by the adults in the age group of 25-34 (Ayers,
2014). A research has been conducted using the Users and Gratifications theory which highlights
the physical, social and psychological motives of the dating app users. Physical gratifications are
more sexual desires and sexual pleasure driven. Finding and maintaining romantic relationships,
get bounded by commitment and forming social relationships are some of the social gratifications.
The psychological gratifications include going with the trend and sensation, getting validation of
one’s appearance and sexual appeal (Sindy R. Sumter, 2016).

Various studies shows that the physical, social and psychological gratifications are different for
different genders and these also change with the age of the users. Sexual satisfaction is more
important for men while women are more into forming a strong romantic bond (Tolman, 2003).
Romantic relationships are more common among emerging adults (Garcia, 2015) and as these
adults grow older, they start preferring casual relationships (Grello, 2006).

A research shows that young adults are more into finding “Fun, Relationship and Hookup partners”
whereas older users use online and mobile dating apps to find a partner who is keen for a long-
term serious relationship (Sheldon, 2017). With the changing times, the forms of relationships
have also changed and in addition to traditional dating, cyber dating has also become a way of
meeting new people and potential partners.

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Cyber dating is carried out in two ways; online dating and mobile dating apps. On online dating
websites one can see detailed profiles, screen through various profiles, search and view multiple
dating matches and it also gives the option of searching for specific criteria. Online dating websites
are accessed from a laptop or a desktop. Mobile dating apps are accessed through mobile phones
or tablets. They are location based, easier to use and the bent of the users is more towards finding
a partner for hookup (G., 2015).

The users have to share some personal information about themselves which help in forming a base
for the conversation and may help in making a real and deep connection with other users. This is
the idea of uncertainty reduction theory which states that it helps in reducing the uncertainty about
other people by gathering information about them (Berger, 1975). A study showed that the people
with low self-esteem are most likely to look for partners for hookups where as people with high
self-esteem might not get into hookups or one-night stands (Paul. E.L., 2000).

The traditional gender roles also play a huge role in the reason for joining dating apps. Men are
motivated to use dating apps for hookups and casual relationships where as women use dating apps
to for romantic and relationship aspects (Paul, 2000). The motivational factors for using dating
apps include several reasons like looking for fun, seeking for sex, searching for soul mate, a way
to ease boredom, and for relaxation purpose (Couch, 2008). Some of the other motivational factors
are like looking for companionship, control over environment and presentation, comfort after life
crisis, adventure, to avoid stereotypical roles and commitment and to indulge into romantic fantasy
(Lawson, 2006). A study yielded other motives like opportunity to meet new people, anonymity,
curiosity, easier communication, social communication, emotional support, love, escape and
obtaining sexual partners (Wang, 2010).

There are many studies that suggest even these motivations are shaped by demographic and
personality-based factors. There are aspects that relate to demography in this case, which are
gender and sexual orientation. In the case of gender, it was found that men use dating applications
more actively than women (J, 2007), and prefer to have an extroverted personality online. They
might also have multiple dating relationships, while are expected to have a passive role when it
comes to dating. Only when it comes to fulfilling interpersonal goals, we notice that women have
an active hand as they prefer offline dating in order to validate their self-worth compared to men.
Such validation is needed in order to comply with the more uncertain nature of the dating

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experience felt by women (as compared to men). In regards to entertainment goals, men were
found to be more thrill-seeking than women (Sumter, 2018). When it comes to sexual orientation,
then studies have found that the LGB communities were significantly higher on online sites than
in offline dating. This is because for the people who are not open about their preferences, it might
be quite easier to communicate to people and also locate them (Thomas, 2012).

Talking about the personality-based factors, these are the aspects that come next to gender and
sexual orientation. These factors can be related to the attitude one has with meeting and dating
new people, then sensation seeking, which means the risk one is willing to take risks in order to
gain various dating experiences (M, 2014) Such a goal of sensation seeking can also be directly
related to entertainment and intrapersonal goals such as thrill-seeking and self-validation. Seekers
are also more open to newer experiences and tend to explore and push their backgrounds as much
as they can. In order to understand the motivational factors which governed the arenas of dating,
we need to understand that these young adults are always inclined towards fulfilling their
entertainment, interpersonal, and relational goals.

Online dating is prominent in almost every country in the world now and the most popular
application, Tinder, is present in more than 200 countries. While understanding the motivation
behind the usage of these applications, one must know that there are multiple motives and they
cannot be fixed to a set of them. There have been many studies that have concluded the reasons to
use the apps. For example, the six-component model of Griffiths examined several online
behaviors which included social media addiction, problematic series watching, YouTube
addiction, online pornography addiction, online gaming, and Internet addiction. This model was
able to analyze the several problematic behaviors online and behavioral addictions. These types of
motivations are expected to lead to negative and problematic behaviors. Furthermore, another
study, by Ligtenberg (Ligtenberg, 2015) identified 4 types of motivational factors behind dating
apps, which are entertainment. Social interaction, identity exploration, and information. The social
interaction aspect mostly relates to finding a potential partner(s). Identity exploration basically
meant understanding oneself and exploring the principles by which they are governed and feeling
empowered by gaining that knowledge. Entertainment, in this case, simply means having fun,
releasing stress, and escaping boredom. Finally, the information aspect refers to attempting a social
comparison and gaining information about the user’s own attractiveness (Orosz et al., 2018). The

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most recent study by Ranzini and Lutz (2016), suggested that there are most popularly 6 motives
which drive in individual, and they are building social relationships, finding sexual partners,
finding someone to date, dating in a different place, self-validation, and satisfying social curiosity.

EXPECTATIONS FROM DATING APPLICATIONS

Online dating profiles are basically static self-presentational portfolios consisting of textual
descriptions and photographs. Profiles are essential for online daters because they constitute a
gateway for future face to face dating. Often, individuals are pursued or ignored by would-be
romantic partners based on a quick perusal of the profile (Heino et al, 2010) . Hence, daters are
motivated to construct versions of self that are attractive to potential romantic partners. Perhaps in
response to these pressures, they admit to having exaggerated their profiles a bit (Whitty,
2008).The internet and online dating tools serve as an outlet for young adults to seek meaningful
relationships and attachments to peers or potential partners. Most users of online dating
applications use these platforms from the fear that “someone else is out there” and that in order to
find the best possible partner, one has to constantly keep looking, swiping and frequently moving
to next potential mate.

The popularity of these applications is made by creating an illusion of “thin trust” wherein there
is an underlying assumption that being an anonymous he/she appears similar to you, have similar
interest and tastes, share your extended social circle, there are trustworthy. Many believe that thin
trust has the potential to transform into “thick trust” which can be taken forward to develop and
have a meaningful relationship. This results in applicants creating a false sense of security and
attachment for young adults who use them (Flug, 2016). Users know that they’ve endless supply
of individuals at their fingertips and they can swipe left/right anyone they want. So, doesn’t matter
if they’re disappointed in a match because they expect to find an equally appealing or even better
match soon. Any user of any dating application would want another person that they come across,
to use these apps fairly, treat them nicely and present themselves honestly (Flug, 2016).

In case of matching the users with their significant equals or even potential partners, it is quite
complicated if only the final matches are taken into consideration or if agents behave strategically.
For example, a man with a low attractiveness rating may not approach a highly attractive woman

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if the chance of forming a match with her is low, such that the expected utility from a match is
lower than the cost of writing an e-mail or the disutility from a possible rejection. In that case, his
choice of a less attractive woman does not reveal his true preference ordering. However, there is
enough evidence to show that the users are more likely to approach a partner who is relatively
more attractive rather than a lesser attractive partner, regardless of their own rating based on
attractiveness.

In one of the leading accounts, (Clark, 1996) refers to the shared expectations that are relied upon
during communication as communal common ground. Communal common ground consists of the
facts, norms, procedures that can be assumed to be known to any member of a community. Slang
and jargon, for example, can be assumed to be understandable within one particular community
but not in another.

In online dating, users may rely on different perceptions as to how the terms are described and
how their typically interpreted by other users in the dating community and their shared
expectations about regulating behavior. For instance, few studies have found that the online daters
tend to exaggerate based on the assumption that other users, or other daters are doing so as well
(Ellison et al. & Fiore and donath, 2006 , 2004). As articulated by online dater, he explained that
everybody lies about their age on the website, or a lot of people do and hence it led him to cheat
as well in order to be on the same page as everybody else. Such expectations around the communal
understandings of exaggeration influence the assessment of an acceptability because users learn
the outcomes of such exaggerations when they themselves are says other dater’s profiles or their
messages.

A dater may believe that claiming to be 5’10” will be interpreted as signifying a height of 5’9”;
although factually incorrect, this claim might be acceptable if the dater does not perceive it as
creating a false belief. Consistent with this reasoning, (Heino et al, 2010)found that online daters
developed strategies for interpreting physical descriptions that took into account a certain degree
of embellishment. These strategies and expectations regarding typical and appropriate behavior
develop over time, as users learn from past wrongdoings and triumphs. In contexts in which
embellishment is a shared expectation, assessments may be correspondingly adjusted, which
would affect subsequent relational processes.

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ONLINE DATING TODAY?

Dating apps now a days have become a common way to meet romantic partners. All dating apps
mostly work in a similar manner where you get options and one can swipe right for like and swipe
left for dislike. People are generally satisfied by how this procedure works as they can just sit at
their respective homes and have multiple options, without having to deliberately find people to
date. But according to researchers that is also a disadvantage as commitment diminishes if a person
has multiple options available. (Cassandra Alexopoulos (PhD)a, 2019) According to researchers
in a relationship commitment is the strongest predictors of infidelity and they have proved
infidelity has direct connection with perceived partner availability so these dating apps in this era
increases the chances of lower level of commitment in people. Most users find these apps attractive
due to ease of use. When a survey was conducted regarding to questions ‘expectations of use’ and
‘sexual activity’, 55% of the survey participants reported that they primarily use dating apps to
find dates and 8% reported that they use the apps merely to seek non-sexual friendships (Mitchell
HobbsUniversity of Sydney, 2016). In contrast, only 25% of survey respondents reported that they
use the apps ‘primarily to find sexual encounters’. Of those survey respondents who indicated that
they were in a relationship, 10% said that they had used the technology to engage in a sexual affair,
with a subsequent question revealing that most felt that they would not have ‘cheated’ on their
partners had the apps not made it so easy to do so. (Mitchell HobbsUniversity of Sydney, 2016).
Relationships play an important role in a person’s life and it can definitely affect one’s life and on
these apps a person judges another one solely on the basis of just looks. So these dating apps do
not offer time to focus on anything other than appearance. So there dating apps seems to offer the
playground for omnipotent fantasies so short term emotional satisfaction, options for hook-ups
will always come in the picture of these dating apps. (Paska, 2020) For example in India where
traditional and social norms still require young people not to date or have sex before marriage
dating apps have become a tool to access this. So in 21st century its becoming common to men for
intimate relationships through dating apps but it seems to be more complex than one thinks it is.
(Paska, 2020).

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The group members conducted several qualitative interviews to get a good idea of the perception
of people using these dating apps. We conducted the interviews via online (Zoom platform) modes.

The guided interviews targeted different objectives: which applications do you use, reasons for
using, top 3 motivators, expectations based on your usage and some gender role and stereotyping
questions towards the end.

We got a good variety of answers to our questions. While conducting the interviews, we focused
on maintaining a non-judgmental atmosphere and non-verbal feedback, accepting all digressions
as being reasonable and meaningful.

The answers that we received to the expectation’s questions were quite helpful in understanding
what exactly do the users seek out of these apps. Majority of responses revolved around seeking
casual relationships. It seems like users are aware about this casual trend being popular on these
apps and one is expected to find it pretty easily. Talking to them made us understand that they are
aware of this type of relationship and also that one is only using these apps for getting involved in
casual stuff.

Another popular response that we received was that some people look forward to having a romantic
relationship on these apps nevertheless the common perception of casual stuff. They don’t believe
in wasting time and efforts on people with whom they’re not seriously or emotionally involved
with. They rather have one person to talk to and get to know them better. Many people also
indicated that if they really hit off with their partners, then they wouldn’t mind meeting them in
person. So, this calls for having honest and genuine attitudes as it attracts people. They expect their
match to be nice in general sense, mature, understanding and moreover compatible.

The final category of responses that we were able to club together was users expecting to boost
their self-esteem and confidence. This category of users primarily uses these apps for self-
purposes. They might download it as a “positive way to pass time”. Getting a match brings feelings
of euphoric sensations and being unmatched causes sadness, anger, uncertainty and self-doubt.
Several users try to prevent themselves from experiencing such strong emotions and they end up
lowering their expectation levels. This however, is contradictory to the main objectives that these
apps promise to serve. They are supposed to make people seek for true love or match but sex,

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affairs or flings are the only minimum targets set by these apps today. This is where they fall short
of their main purpose.

Considering both the positive and negative emotions when using the app. Users report the feeling
of excitement, being really thrilled to have a match or super like and even euphoric by the
possibilities and options of meeting new people and having a great time on these applications. But
talking about the negative suction effects, people often account that they sometimes regret using
these apps as they are useless for them and don’t reap positive results. Many use this platform to
cope with serious psychological issues and personal crisis like a divorce, loneliness and self-doubt,
getting over an ex or someone close to them being some to mention (Kleeberg-Niepage, 2020).

SATISFACTION AFTER USING A DATING APPLICATION

Online dating applications are continuously evolving, changing and upgrading the way people
associate themselves with these applications. In this technology-centered era, online dating
application is fast replacing the conventional ways of how people used to meet and date prior to
these applications. It is now easier for an individual to know almost everything there is to know
about the other person without practically meeting that individual in person. However, there are
positive and negatives to using these applications. The main purpose that these applications serve
is to satisfy their consumers and ensure they have a stress free and satisfying experience. Analyses
and surveys carried out worldwide suggests that the users of online dating tools have lower overall
life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction as compared to those who do not use or engage with
these dating tools (Pernokis, 2018)

On the contrary, this stands false for those users who were successful in finding a partner with the
help of dating tools. Those who found their present partners through online dating tools had higher
romantic life satisfaction than others. All of those who engaged themselves with these dating
applications and perceived to being successful with using dating tools, provided higher ratings of
life satisfaction, romantic life satisfaction, positive effect and extroversion and also indicated
greater motivations of further using and recommending dating tools to their friends, colleagues,
family members and acquaintances (Pernokis, 2018).

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Individuals possessing high traits of low pessimism, neuroticism and agreeableness had high
ratings of frequency of usage of online dating tools compared to others. The surveys showcase that
certain individuals are more likely to benefit from their usage of dating applications and tools than
others. This number also helps us in understanding their respective social behavior, online dating
behavior, personality and subjective well-being.

Relationships play a larger role in one’s subjective well-being as they satisfy our need and desire
to belong and correlate with a higher well-being and romantic life satisfaction scores. Personality
also seemed to influence one’s mental state and direct their online dating behavior, relationship
satisfaction and internet use. Specific traits as mentioned above, have been known to greatly
influence and link higher or lower well-being, romantic life satisfaction, motives and needs being
met by online behavior.

Researchers have often predicted that relationship satisfaction and romantic life satisfaction would
be positively correlated with overall life satisfaction and negatively with negative effect. The users
who perceive success using online dating tools have high ratings of subjective well-being and are
supposedly happier, more satisfied with their romantic life and experience more positive effect.
Success over usage of online dating applications is a reliable predictor of an individuals’ overall
life satisfaction and romantic life satisfaction. Additionally, online dating users who were
successful in finding potential partners revealed that they were motivated by love or loneliness and
now they perceive themselves to be succeeding with online dating (Pernokis, 2018).

Users’ initial online impressions and subsequent offline impressions of their date are often used to
predict relationship duration, satisfaction levels and relationship quality including perceived
intimacy and overall romantic life satisfaction. However, surveys often clinched that prior to the
meeting, the initial online impressions were not capable of predicting the relationship duration but
it did successfully predict the metrics of relationship quality. Several of online dating application
users pre-meeting judgments are linked with how attractive they are, how well they had gotten to
know them, how much they had in common and how well they fit or suit user’s ideal partner
criteria. These predictions successfully showcased post meet up satisfaction and intimacy after 2-
3 weeks after the first date. Perceptions of personality traits is important but it didn’t effectively
predict the relationship satisfaction but nevertheless, they were significantly associated with
intimacy scores. Millions of people use online dating applications but only those who perceive

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themselves successful may be reaping the positive benefits. (“(18) (PDF) Predicting relationship
outcomes in online dating: a longitudinal survey,” 2011)

THE SOCIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS OF DATING

Online dating is now becoming more popular than ever. It provides the users several advantages
and helps them connect very easily to strangers online. The convenience that this phenomenon
provides also comes with a lot of disadvantages as well as problems that might occur during or
after establishing a connection with someone. Online dating is only safe when used correctly and
smartly. A person may never know what the true intentions of the other person may actually be.
Here are a few types of major problems which are associated with online dating-

“Romance scams” or “sweetheart swindles” are one of the most common ways of committing
fraud while dating online. In this, a person will try to convince the soon-to-be victim, that they
have real and strong feelings for them and that they can be trustworthy. After establishing this trust
and security between them, they commit frauds like identity theft and even financial thefts (Rage,
2009). While other types of scams can be less personal, romance scams attack the victim right at
their self- respect and self-worth. Online dating provides these scammers even a wider arena to
commit such frauds. A fake profile can easily be made on any popular site, and further, the entire
process begins after initiating communication.

“Identity Fraud” is another way that is loosely related to romance scams. Identity frauds, along
with emotional and financial damage, affect the victims indirectly (Rage, 2009). The victims are
exploited, directly and indirectly by the scammers. In an identity fraud, the scammer impersonates
being someone else in order to achieve their goal of committing fraud. The scammer will
completely take up the identity of someone else and abandon their own. While committing identity
fraud in real life could be a difficult job, online platforms make it so much easier. Cyberspace
imposters and hackers can easily hide their real identities and attack and also hack into the personal
pieces of information of their victims.

Online dating can become a threat to marriages. Meaning, a person who is dissatisfied with their
marriage would want to establish a connection with strangers online and feel comforted and

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positive about themselves. For this, many users wouldn’t even disclose their marital status. Online
platforms provide the users a freeway to lie and deceive the tiger person as long as he or she can
manipulate and lie without facing any consequences (Yazdanifard, 2015).

The unsatisfied users can under influence of their peers and are easily motivated by the fact that
they can still find something better than their marriage.

One of the major issues with online dating is that it creates a privacy breach. Meaning, whenever
we are on an online platform, the dating sites collect all kinds of information like demographic
info, geographic info and social status, etc. While the motive behind collecting this information is
to gather the most suited and marched partners, it can still become a threat if the information goes
into the hands of the wrong person. Hacking is one of the most common threats which can happen
when such information is not shared safely.

DOES VALIDATION ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AFFECT ONE’S

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITY OFFLINE?

India seems to be waking up to online dating applications since last few years. Most of the dating
applications have tripled their base in India. Education and financial independence among the
youth is one of the major reasons of this digital dating era. So online dating can increase more in
next few years. In India dating was always a taboo. But all of this is changing and one of the
reasons behind this is women in India. They are financially independent now and want to take their
own decisions and choose their own life partner and not be dependent on their parents for important
decisions of their life.

Now days dating apps have become a means to meet sexual/ romantic partners near close
geographical locations. It’s basically believed that people use these apps for casual sex but
researchers have proved this wrong. These apps can be used for various reasons one of them is
social validation. People do look for validation on these apps they want to know can they get good
matches or do people like them. A research was conducted by MTV news and they found out 61%
users of age group 18-29 were interested more in who likes them on these apps than actually going
onto dating them. So, when you get a flirty message on these apps from someone you find attractive

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you feel the same validation you feel when you get good number of comments and likes on
Instagram.

There was a user who was interviewed and told that dating apps experience helped her to regain
her confidence after seeing that there are guys out there who would want to date her and made her
feel desirable again. She said that that validation helped her in so many ways as because of the
confidence she was doing good in her professional life too. People are also comfortable using these
apps because at any point when the latter is making them uncomfortable or they just want to use it
for validation they can simply unmatch or block that person. As Rachel Zar said that without even
leaving their places once can get hundreds of matches who tell you how attractive they find you
and one can get rid of them on a single click if they feel uncomfortable. She also says self-esteem
if determined by others opinion can be easily taken away so one should have immense confidence
in themselves so even if dating apps make you feel good its temporary once should work on their
insecurities and try to have self-esteem that comes from within and not by what others say. Also
seeking validation from these apps can make people feel worse. As people start seeking validation
from someone, they are not even interested in they start swiping right on those or start talking to
those they are not even interested in. There is a difference in finding love and finding validation
when one focuses too much on seeking confidence, they can detract from finding something real
that they could otherwise. So, in conclusion dating apps are not only being used for finding partners
but also various things that make people increase their self-esteem.

The traditional way of socializing has been replaced by a modern way where in people socialize
with each other via social media platforms. The time that users spend on the social media has
increased and that has led to a decline in traditional social interactions. When one creates a profile
on social media, s/he can manipulate the way in which the viewer views their profile.

Goffman’s dramaturgical theory states that when two people are interacting, they are attempting
to create a certain image about themselves in the mind of the other person. The person tries to
highlight only the positive strands of his personality in order to please the other person (Goffman,
1959). This theory is better understood with the help of Skinners’ relation to behaviourism theory
where a person feels the necessity to behave in a way in which the other group members are
behaving (Midgley, 1992).

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Goffman’s theory also has a discussion on front- stage and back-stage identities where in on front-
stage, a person controls the way others see him/her and if the person receives any positive
feedback, then s/he will inculcate those qualities in the back-sage i.e., real life. Hence, these two
theories help us to understand that how one tries to shape his/her identity in order be liked by all.

A study also shows that sometimes, due to mixing of online and offline identities, the person’s
whole identity becomes unauthentic. It also stated that in the pursuit of creating a people pleasing
identity on social media, one might lose his/her original self as the focus is only on to seek
validation on social networking sites (Davis, 2012). Another youth centric study suggests that for
young people, social networking sites is a space where their peers can see their lifestyle and build
social relationship with them on that basis. It also does the work of developing an alternative ego
identity that is autonomous and is socially valued by the peers as well (Livingstone, 2008).

A research has been conducted where the results show that how people’s presence on social
networking sites influence the formation of their identity and how they try to represent themselves
in a way that is socially acceptable. The findings of the study supported Goffman’s theory and
suggested that validation of online identity causes the user to maintain a same type of identity
offline as well and by the presentation of online identity, one can manipulate the way in which his
offline identity is perceived (Ganda, 2014).

IS ONLINE DATING SEEN AS TABOO IN CERTAIN FAMILIES?

A lot of people now are using online dating site or mobile dating apps and they are also surrounded
by people who use them. Nowadays the public attitudes towards online dating have changed a lot
since past few years. The attitude has been much more positive in the recent years and surprisingly
social networking sites are now playing a prominent role when it comes to navigating and
documenting romantic relationships.

Progressive Families understand that their children are not merely extensions of them but are
whole people who have certain undeniable rights of their own. Progressive parents’ value critical
thinking over obedience and they believe that it is an important practice that can be facilitated at a

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young age.

They encourage their children to participate in decision making and support their challenging
decisions whenever it's appropriate. Moreover, they treat their children like autonomous people.
Progressive families ensure that home is a safe place for their children where they can express their
thoughts and unpack issues related to race, class, gender, ability status, and more. Because
ultimately these families are raising children not only to be safe, happy, and healthy but they are
also raising them to be someone else’s partners, neighbours and so much more. Therefore, the
parenting choices not only affect a particular family but the broader communities to which they
belong and contribute.

These progressive families have accepted that their children at an appropriate age, are free to be
friends with whoever they like and date anyone they wish. They want their children to be aware
that their parents won’t punish them for this and rather understand and be happy for them. The
parents should make sure that their children know if anything goes south, they will always have
their parents to fall back on and they would surely guide them to the best of advice.

However, this is not quite the case that our group witnessed. A couple of interviews taken suggests
that people who are about to get married don’t prefer arranged marriage rather they want to marry
someone they love or had a relationship with, but they don’t have a potential partner yet. So, they
instead use these dating applications to find potential partners to marry and when they are sure to
marry them, they introduce their match to their family saying that they want a love marriage. They
often don’t reveal that they met them online as it would not sound appropriate in front of their
parents. It can be easily concluded thereafter that a lot of people in the age bracket of 25-30 years
use online dating apps as marriage websites. They don’t wish to use the conventional matrimonial
sites, so they end up using Bumble or Tinder as their gateway to find a suitable match for marriage.

This is where Indian parents lack. They fail to provide their children safe and trustworthy
environment. Their children constantly think that they’ll be judged, punished, or refused to access
such dating apps. We wish to see a different scenario soon where parents are flexible and don’t
intrude upon their children’s dating life and accept them no matter what. An interesting thing to
mention here. It has been observed that people in the age group of 45- 60 use dating apps as a
leeway to overcome a personal problem like breakup, divorce, death of the partner and alike. So,

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since people at this stage use dating apps, they don’t have any reason to judge teenagers and young
adults who use the same dating application to find a potential match or seek romantic relationship.

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DISCUSSION

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS

The questions that we asked in the interviews helped us to understand the perception of the dating
app users regarding the three elements of our research; motivators, expectations and satisfaction
and that further served as a base in designing the questionnaire for conducting quantitative
research. The first thing that we asked the respondents was why they joined a dating app because
getting to know the motivators of the respondents for using dating applications would help us to
get an idea about the expectations of dating app users and we can also figure out how the motivators
are related to one’s expectations. For instance, if a person his using a dating application to kill
boredom, then s/he would expect to match with like-minded people, to have interesting
conversation with people, to make some new friends, etc.

The second thing that we brought in our conversation was what all things did the dating app users
expected from the application. One motive behind asking this question was to know the
expectations of dating app users and the other motive was to see how an individual’s expectations
affect his/her satisfaction. For instance, if someone makes a profile on dating app with the
expectation to find a match with a person of a particular physical appearance, then if this
expectation is met with, then that individual will be satisfied and if the expectation is not met, then
it would lead to dissatisfaction. The last thing that we asked the respondents was what all things
and experiences on dating applications made them feel satisfied and what all things and
experiences made them feel dissatisfied. The interviews helped us to get a basic idea of motivators,
expectations and satisfaction level of the dating app users and we used this information for framing
the questionnaire from which we intend to find out whether the dating applications are actually
helping the users in finding out what they are looking for or not.

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THEMATIC ANALYSIS

The primary reason to take interviews was to get an idea as to how people perceive these dating
applications and whether or not these apps help them find suitable and potential partners. The
objective of conducting focus groups and one-on-one interviews was carefully thought before
conducting them. The group decided upon a basic structure that every interviewer would follow
before taking the interview. As mentioned in our research objective, our aim is to establish a
relationship or rather a link between the motivation, expectations and satisfaction of users after
using dating applications. Every group member had prepared a different set of questions for their
interview but every member made sure to attain valuable information.
The motivation set questions were directed straight to receive certain motivation variables that
motivates people to engage with the application. Many users had more or less indicated having the
same motivation variables. A quarter of users wanted to have a casual relationship with their
partners and hence they approached this platform to find other people with similar interests.
Having casual friendships and relationships is a good way to find a source of entertainment out of
the busy lives. Many people in the age bracket of 18-21 prefer this sort of relationship setup and
they believe dating apps will not disappoint them, hence they are motivated to use these
applications. Another set of users use it as a way to tackle boredom. They spend about an hour or
so, twice a week on dating applications and this helps them to remain active and engaged. Also, in
the backdrop of pandemic, many people installed these applications as they were unable to date
physically, they resorted to dating apps. Some of the responses that we received were quite
interesting. Some people were motivated to use these applications as a way to get over their past
romantic relationships or as a medium to boost confidence to talk to opposite genders. Some
interviewee shared that they started using these applications under peer pressure, they wanted to
talk to new people and get in line with this new trend of dating. Therefore, it is safe to say that the
motivation variables are different from person to person. What motivates one person may not
motivate another.

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Next set of questions were aimed at understanding the level of expectations that users have before
using the application. Understanding the expectations of users serves as a base for understanding
the satisfaction of users after their usage. Many users expect instant matches and not getting good
matches according to the user's preference leads to dissatisfaction. People expect to match with
people who have similar interests, share the same views and opinions and are interested to converse
with them. Additionally, users valued conversation a lot on these apps. The conversation pace
decides upon the satisfaction of the users. They expect that people don't ghost them online and are
as engaged as they are. Users also expect that they get profiles which are in accordance to their
preferences and get the right set of potential matches. Many users also expect to find the “right
person” via dating apps. These are the group of the people who are motivated to have a long-term
romantic relationship out of dating applications.
Lastly, the satisfaction set questions are aimed to understand the satisfaction level of the users after
using dating applications. All the group members had different ways of asking satisfaction
questions. Some of us asked the people to rate their satisfaction level on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being
least satisfied and 5 being fully satisfied. Others simply put forward the question of whether the
user was satisfied or dissatisfied with the application. In any given way, we got sufficient answers
for both the cases. However, a majority of the users were dissatisfied after using dating apps. They
revealed that they often came across fake or fraudulent profiles and there were dissimilarities
between people’s profiles and their real selves. Some users had a lot of tone-deaf conversations
and experienced inappropriate texting behaviour. Male users observed that they receive far less
matches than girls. Also, the quality of matches is not up to their standard. Many users wished to
find a long-term relationship/ casual relationship online. They were unsuccessful either way. The
in-person meetups turned out to be different than the online dating behaviour. So, all of these
aspects account for dissatisfaction after engaging with a dating app online. Nevertheless, some
users did mention that they were to an extent satisfied with their experience. They found their
“ideal” match, long term partner or a causal relationship which they wanted in the beginning. Also,
they made good friends and overall were satisfied with the application. Many users even said that
they would surely recommend the dating apps that they use to their friends, colleagues and
acquaintances.

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GOOGLE FORM DISCUSSION: GENERIC QUESTIONS

DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

The survey for this research was designed in such a manner that the objectives of the research
could be studied at length. The questionnaire covered the demographic details which helped us to
study the nature of the respondents. The questionnaire was filled by 212 respondents out of which
51.7% respondents were males, 37.9% respondents were females and 10% respondents refrained
from disclosing their gender. Out of the total respondents, 75.4% of them fall in the age group of
18-25 years, 20.4% are aged from 25-30 years and 4.3% respondents are above the age of 30. This
data will help us to analyse the motivators, expectations and satisfaction level with respect to dating
apps for respondents of different age groups and it would also help us to understand the above-
mentioned aspects for the respondents of different genders. The demographic details will serve as
an insight for further analysis of the questions asked in the questionnaire.

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FREQUENCY OF USAGE

This was asked to know how often do the people use dating apps and we found out of 211 responses
50.2% of them said that they had no fixed time of using dating apps and 26.1% said that they open
or use the app at least once in a week. This tells us that they use the app whenever they are free
and most of them don’t track when do they visit, they don’t have a fixed time for that. Sometimes
they do get matches so they are very active otherwise not. Through the questionnaire, we came to
know 63% people were happy by their current experience which encourages them to use app more
and more.

Out of 210 responses 29 % people have been using the apps more than 6 months and 25.2% have
done it more than a year so people have been there for some time and looking for partners.
According to our survey 75.4 % of them are from age 18-25 years which involves mostly college

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students or the ones who have just started working and since we also found out 59.7% people were
satisfied with their experience and people may also want to look out other options on these dating
apps. Also, pandemic happened so people wanted to connect with new people so this is why many
of them have just started a year ago and since majority of the people’s experience is good, they
keep using these apps.

WHICH DATING APP DO YOU USE?

After collecting the data from a sample size of more than 200 hundred people, it was observed that the
popularity of certain apps completely outnumbered the same of others. We had a selected number
of applications, namely, Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Happn, and a blank choice, in our survey
form. The apps Bumble, Tinder, and OkCupid were found to be extremely popular amongst the
other options. Users of Happn and Hinge were 22 and 40, respectively. In the entire sample size, it was
also observed that users did not only use just 1 application, mostly all of them used multiple

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applications in order to reach their levels of satisfaction and serve their purpose of being there. The
highest number of users was found to be that of Bumble, with was 76.3% of our sample size, roughly
161 respondents.

In the data, there had been a mention of an application named Aisle, which is an Indian dating
application considered too soon start having a tough competition to Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid.
With 3 million installs worldwide it may soon come in the top 5 grossing dating applications in
India. This Bangalore-based company had total revenue of more than 3.5 crores in FY2019.
Amongst the users, it was observed that more than 60% of the profiles overlap, meaning you can find
the same person one more than 1 application. That is the case with Tinder and Bumble. While is
considered to be more reliant as it is safer, and more convenient for its users, Tinder is tended better
for hangout/or hookups purposes.

Interestingly, it was also mentioned that various social media applications which do not have a
dating background, like Instagram or Facebook, can also fall into the category of dating apps. This
means, and any application, if it connects two people with mutual interests, on the same platform can
become and serve the purpose of being a dating app. Such mentions were also made in the interviews
taken individually where it was stated that such social media apps were actually more convenient and
easier to connect with people and start a conversation.

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WHAT FEATURE OF THE DATING PROFILE INTERESTS YOU THE

MOST?

The most attractive feature of any user on his/her dating profile is their profile picture. About 74%
of the response have selected this option. It suggests that the users prefer making a first impression
by looking at the profile picture of a person before any other feature on their profile. Users often
look at the physical features of a person and determine their attractiveness level by that. The next
highest appealing feature is the Bio on the profile of the user, with around 140 of the respondents
selecting that option. A Bio describes the person in general, a brief description to his/her overall
personality. Bio acts like a sneak-peak into person’s life and people decide whether or not they
want to engage in a conversation with them after reading their bio.

Age feature also holds an important place when it comes to which feature interests a person using
online dating apps. Nearly, 50% of respondents have selected this option. Also, looking at the
Expectation Likert statements, we can conclude that 52 respondents agree that they expect to date
people younger than them & 65 respondents expect to find people older than them on dating

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applications. This only goes on to show that people value age of the user before engaging with
them.

The feature “Hobbies” is selected by 112 respondents and “Education/Work experience” by 93

respondents. This shows that users are affected by a person’s educational background and their
work life. They tend to associate more with people who have similar interests and hobbies. This
gives them a common topic to start off with their conversation and maintain that in future.

Only about 31% of the respondents care about the Height/weight feature. They disregard this
feature as they are not sure whether or not this particular information will affect their conversation
and overall experience with that person. However, this feature turns out to be a problem for many
users when their in-person meet doesn’t go as planned. As 75 of the 212 respondents agree with
the fact that they feel dissatisfied if their in-person meet doesn’t go as well as planned. There can
be a number of reasons for dissatisfaction but the physical appearance of a person is often seen the
most common reason for dissatisfaction.

Lastly, the least attractive feature of a person’s profile is their Religion status. Only 23% of the
respondents which is 49 respondents roughly, have selected this feature. This accomplishes that
people don’t really care about the other person’s religious status before talking to them. It is only
fair that this feature doesn’t hold much importance in a user’s experience as religious barriers
should be avoided in today’s secular world. Everyone should accept and appreciate other’s religion
status. This should not become a reason for anyone to discontinue their behavior over dating
websites.

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RECOMMENDING DATING APPS TO OTHERS & OVERALL

SATISFACTION

This question was framed while keeping in mind the experiences of people using dating
application, and it also throws light on the fact whether the user was satisfied with his/her
experience or not, and whether they have met their expectations or not.

The pie chart depicts the percentage of people that would recommend using dating applications to
their friends, and 76.3% of the respondents have decided that they would Recommend using these
apps to their friends, as they found what they expected or that they were satisfied with their
experience.

However, on the other hand, around 23.7% of the responses suggested that they would not
recommend using dating applications as they might be unsatisfied with their experience or that
their expectations were not met.

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To conclude, the majority of the respondents were left satisfied with their experience (59.7%)
hence decided to recommend it to their friends, which wasn’t the same for the rest of them as they
might not have been able to be find a suitable match, or were dissatisfied with the same (40.3%)
due to which they chose to do the opposite.

A noteworthy mention of the percentage figure of respondents who said that they will continue
using dating apps in future further suggests that majority of the people were satisfied with their
experience. 63% of people responded saying they will continue using dating apps after their current
experience and only a handful of 78 respondents (37%) said they won’t be using dating apps after
their current experience. Important to note, that those who said they won’t be using dating apps in
future are the same people who won’t recommend these apps to their friends and acquaintances
because of the unpleasant experience they had while using them. Below mentioned is the graphic
representation of the same data analysis.

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MOTIVATION EXPECTATION SATISFACTION

Boosting Confidence and Funding potential New friends Fake/Fraudulent Profiles

Social Validation

Rebound Looking out for emotional Number of matches

support

Looking for a partner Finding a long-term partner Harassment

Need for new faces/ Expanding Finding a short-term partner Inappropriate conversation
social network

Boredom/Too much time Compatible Matches/ Multiple Being Ghosted

matches

Curiosity Physical Validation Number of compatible matches

Looking for a causal Finding like-minded people In-person meeting

relationship

Peer pressure Sexual Validation Limited Conversation

Social and Cultural Constraints False information and

Projection

Time Constraints

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FACTOR ANALYSIS

MOTIVATION FACTOR ANALYSIS

Motivation of any person acts as a driving force to commit any action for themselves. Without this
aspect, a person would not ever take actions in order to move forward. In this study, the importance
of motivation plays a crucial role in determining the factors that we have been able to derive from
our study. The relevance of this component is necessary as it helps in the prediction of, or
preference of our sample size, regarding the many reasons they are motivated from, for using
dating applications.

In our study, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of sampling adequacy is 0.854. Which means that
the data presented is relevant and trustworthy. Through the component matrix, we were able to
derive 3 Factors for this set. The explanation of them is provided below.

Factor
Number Statements Value Factor Name
I use dating apps because it is a good way to find friends for a
casual relationship 0.522
I use dating apps because they provide me with multiple
options of a romantic partner to choose from 0.308
Social
Factor : 1 I was forced to use dating applications by my friends -0.522 Connectivity
I use dating apps because I come from a strict family
background where dating is considered to be a taboo -0.582
I use dating apps because I think it provides for an easier way
to socialise and meet multiple new people 0.435
I use dating apps as a way to get over boredom 0.508
I use dating apps as I am curious about them 0.39
I use dating apps to improve my communication skills -0.373
Factor : 2 FOMO
I use dating apps as I don’t have enough time to go socialise
in-person -0.502
I use dating apps because I think it provides for an easier way
to socialise and meet multiple new people -0.31
I use dating apps because online dating is more convenient
than traditional in-person dating to find partners 0.624
Factor : 3 Comfort Zone
-0.445

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I use dating apps as I am curious about them

I use dating apps because I think it provides for an easier way
to socialise and meet multiple new people -0.431

Factor 1- Social Connectivity

The Internet has always proven itself to be worthy when it comes to finding anything, whether it
is information, goods and services, and even a dating partner. Internet has become a boon to
mankind as it helps them with almost everything in their daily lives. The statements in this factor
suggest that, the people who think that dating apps were a good way to find partners for a casual
relationship, all of them did that voluntarily, meaning they were not forced or peer pressured into
using the application by their friends or colleagues. The applications also help the users to escape
their family environments where dating is considered taboo, and because of that the users also feel
that dating provides them an easier way to socialize and meet multiple new people. Furthermore,
the statements suggest that through the Internet, the users were able to find more romantic partners
than the same in real life.

The graph in the exhibit represents the users who do not have enough time to socialize in person
and they do so through the internet as it is much more convenient. The male users strongly agree
that they use dating apps as they do not want to socialize in person, while the female users also
agree to the same. There is a bigger number of people who also do not agree but most of them are
male. So it can be said that female users prefer socializing in person more than an average male
user.

Factor 2- Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

Nowadays, everything has gone digital. From payments, the purchases to education, the world is
slowly digitalizing itself and it is very evident that all the activities are being affected by it. The
statements in this factor suggest that people, in this study, are willing to tryout the new digitalized
world, where dating can be done through a screen. They do not have a motive of finding a
romantics partner, but rather they are motivated through their curiosity, which has pushed them
into using dating apps. Moreover, the people who do not have the time to socialize with other in
person, find the usage of dating apps as a way to kill boredom. Other than that, they are confident
in themselves to speak freely and confidently with others, so that suggest that the only motivation

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that they have is to try out newer things and processes and explore the digital dating world more.
All of these users have a fear of missing out on activities that they must experience before a certain
age. Many people experience such feelings, when they feel they are being deprived of anything,
so in order to mend it, the users switch to dating apps.

Factor 3- Comfort Zone

Comfort is one of the things that every human being will keep on searching, until they adapt to
their situations. But in the case of dating, since there are so many options and ways through which
dating can be made possible, people do not want to step-out of their “comfort-zones” and adapt or
try out something different. We all know that; someone will not step out of their “comfort-zone”
until they really have to. And the facilities given by dating applications prevents them from doing
so. The statements in this factor suggest that, the people find online dating a more more convenient
than the traditional in-person dating to find new partners and they do not use them because they
are curious about that phenomena. So, this also suggests that their prime motivation for using the
apps is to find partners easily and socialize with many people, all while still being in their “comfort-
zones”.

The graph in the annexure represents the users who use dating apps because it is a good way to to
find friends for a casual relationship with respect to their ages. It is very clear that people from age
bracket of 18 to 25, use dating apps as they feel that it is a good way to engage in casual
relationships. The second highest graph represents neutrality among the users with age bracket of
18 to 25. The people who are aged more than 30 also agree that dating apps are a good way to find
casual relationships which are short lived.

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EXPECTATION FACTOR ANALYSIS

Factor
Number Statements Value Factor Name
I expect that dating apps can help me receive multiple
compatible matches 0.473
I expect people to comment on my appearance and
attractiveness after they see my profile images -0.453
I expect to find a short-term casual partner by using a
dating application 0.49
I expect to create new friendships with the people I
match on dating apps -0.54 Self - image
Factor :1
I expect to indulge in sexual activities virtually with the management/validation
people I have matched on dating apps -0.35
I expect to indulge in sexual activities physically/in-
person with the people I have matched on dating apps -0.346
I expect to find people of a particular physical
appearance via dating apps (in terms of height, weight,
skin) 0.461
I expect to find people who are smarter than I am -0.429
I expect to find people who have similar interests as I
have through dating apps 0.347
I expect to find a long-term partner by using a dating
apps 0.329
I expect to indulge in sexual activities physically/in-
person with the people I have matched on dating apps 0.36
Factor: 2 Compatibility
I expect people to want to have conversations with me -0.334
I expect to find people who are more attractive than I
am -0.521
I expect to find people who are more confident than I
am
-0.477
I expect people to want to have conversations with me 0.328
I expect to find people who are smarter than I am 0.312 Conversational
Factor: 3
connection
I expect to find people who are dumber/less smart than
I am 0.532
I expect to find people who have similar interests as I Just matches and
Factor: 4
have through dating apps -0.367 nothing concrete

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I expect to find people younger than me to date via

dating apps 0.355
I expect to find emotional support from my matches on
dating apps -0.341
I expect to find people who are dumber/less smart than
I am 0.315
I expect to find people who are polar-opposite to me on
dating applications 0.545

In our study, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of sampling adequacy is 0.844. Which means that
the data presented is relevant and trustworthy. Through the component matrix, we were able to
derive 4 Factors for this set. The explanation of them is provided below.

Factor 1- Self-Image Validation/Management

Self-image can be defined as, “the mental image that individual has of their own selves.” It is
extremely important for individuals while they are using these dating applications to expect that
they can maintain and preserve their own self-image and confidence levels. This can be a reason
as many dating applications end up creating a negative environment for its users. Hence, many
users would not want to indulge with these applications to find long-term partners, but they want
to use it for fun. The people who use dating applications expect to receive multiple compatible
matches, with whom they can have short-term casual relations. With these people they would not
really want to have any sexual relation, or create a good friendship with them. People on dating
applications also do not want other users to comment on their appearance, but the users would
want to find people with whom they can match to be of a particular physical appearance which
would match their personal dating preference. This directly suggests how people are interested in
preserving their own self-image and confidence through these applications as they are not open to
criticism of their own selves and their profiles, but they use these applications to find people with
whom they can have casual relations without any emotional baggage or a pressure to maintain a
relation.

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Factor 2 - Compatibility

In the modern age lingo, we would say that people want to find people who are in their dating
league. Here, the term league suggests a group of people that an individual thinks they can easily
date, and would not have to put much efforts to either impress or please them. These individuals
are looking people who have similar interests as them, and not only that but also have a similar
personality orientation in terms of confidence and physical looks (attractiveness). Here, the idea
of acceptance blooms into perspective as people want to date people who will easily accept them
as who they are and would not want to change them. It is all about finding compatible matches and
defining the comfort you feel when you're with someone who's similar to you. Also, they feel more
comfortable to indulge in sexual activities with people who they believe are compatible with them,
and have similar interests.

Factor 3 - Conversational Connection

This suggests that the respondents see dating apps just as a mere platform to have conversations
with whosoever and they don’t really care if the conversations are interesting or boring. This also
depicts that they do not have any specific preference or a filter while talking to people on the dating
apps.

Factor 4 - Just Matches, Nothing Concrete

This indicates that the respondents do not intend to find a serious partner or relationship via dating
apps as they are only looking for people who are younger to them, who do not share any common
interests, ideologies, etc. They also do not seek emotional support from their matches which again
shows that they want to keep their relationship extremely casual with the people they meet on
dating apps. The respondents also expect to match with people who are less smart than themselves.
All of these aspects suggest that people want casual and fun relationships with others who are
either younger to them, or more inexperienced/immature. All these variables suggest that the
respondents have a higher sense of self-image and identity and they want their matches to be less
smart/experienced than them.

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SATISFACTION FACTOR ANALYSIS

Factor
Number Statements Value Factor Name

I feel dissatisfied when the in-person meeting does not

go as well as expected -0.352

I have experienced that when I ask an online date for

Factor: 1 an in-person meeting, it is misunderstood as me Harassment on dating apps

agreeing to sexual activity 0.401

I have been harassed verbally on a dating application 0.765

I have been harassed sexually on a dating application 0.835

I feel satisfied with the number of matches I receive on

dating apps 0.631

I feel dissatisfied as the conversations with my Satisfaction through good

Factor: 2
matches did not go as planned 0.376 conversation

I feel satisfied after using dating application as I match

with multiple like-minded people 0.49

The Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy is a statistic that indicates the
proportion of variance in the variables that might be caused by underlying factors. High value
generally close to 1 indicate that a factor analysis may be useful with data. The KMO of
Satisfaction set and its corresponding factors is 0.856, indicating that the data is reliable and
helpful for further analysis.

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Factor 1- Harassment on Dating Apps

This advocates that users had bad or unpleasing experience over dating applications as they were
harassed either verbally or physically on these apps. They tend to avoid in-person meeting as far
as possible because it is often misunderstood as agreeing to indulge in any sort of sexual activity.
Hence, they don’t seem quite dissatisfied when the in-person meeting does not go as well as
expected. This major dissatisfaction which results out of the virtual world has led to users having
lower expectations as they have set a common notion of these after-events and how they are
conducted.

Below mentioned bar graph shows that majority of users are dissatisfied when the in-person
meeting does not go as well as expected but only the male population in the responses feels
strongly about that. This data revels that female and prefer not to say lot is often harassed online
and they end up having lower expectations from dating applications overall.

Same goes with the statement ‘I have experienced that when I ask an online date for an in-person
meeting, it is misunderstood as me agreeing to sexual activity’. The age group bar group shows
that users in age bracket of 18-25 years have experienced this and thus they get alienated from
using the apps in future.

Factor 2 – Satisfaction through good conversation

Users are satisfaction when they have numerous matches on their profile. They also look forward
to have meaningful conversations with their matches online and they derive satisfaction out of it.
It can be said that since chatting is the only way in the virtual world, before having the in-person
meet to really get to know the person, users often look for those matches with engaging
conversations to move the relationship further. Bountiful responses pointed out that users are
satisfied when they match with like-minded people on dating applications. It provides a common
ground for them to converse about similar interests or have similar opinions.

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Matching with likeminded people also concludes that it satisfies users when their dating
preferences is met online by these applications. More than 55% of responses suggests likewise in
the age bracket of 18-25 years and a little more than 30% strongly agree with this notion.

The bar graph of statement ‘I feel satisfied with the number of matches I receive on dating apps’
plotted on gender basis also supports the agreement of the same. More than 40% of both male and
female responses have indicated that they are satisfied with the number of matches they received
on dating apps. Equally, is the statistical figure of prefer not to say %. Receiving high number of
matches can be linked to the self-esteem of an individual. It is an assurance that many people
validate one’s appearance and physical attributes. Thus, people seeking physical/emotional
validation on such dating sites often feel satisfied as they tend to associate satisfaction with
validation from others. This is also the reason for polar opposite reaction. People often feel
dissatisfied when they are critiqued on their physical appearance or attributes because they value
other’s opinion of themselves. Such aspects shape up one’s personality and actions related to the
usage of dating apps.

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COMBINED FACTOR ANALYSIS

Factor – 1: Casual Sex

This factor talks about people who are influenced by their friends in joining dating apps and also
expect the same things as their friends also they come from strict families and haven’t really tried
this thing maybe they would not have even dated before and looking for some short term casual
partners and have joined the app so that they can indulge in sexual activities with the people they
have matched so they have high expectations from the app as they have seen their friends getting
matches and they expect that they will find such people from this app. The KMO of its
corresponding factors is 0.856, indicating that the data is quite reliable and helpful for further
analysis.

In the above graph it shows that there are more Males who are looking for sexual activities on
dating apps rather than something long term so their expectations from dating apps is high and
also females however strongly disagree so which means they are not looking for sexual partners
on these dating apps. So mostly there are men who prefer this more than women.

Factor – 2: Curious to match

This suggests that the individuals were extremely motivated to try a new technology and
experience online dating. Their motivation to try a new technology made them expect to receive
multiple matches as they saw their friends receive the same through these applications. These
individuals did not necessarily want to indulge in sexual or physical activities with the people that
they matched online or want to create friendships or long-term commitments with these people,
but they were using these applications to find people with whom they can indulge in short term
casual relationships and talk-to occasionally for fun and entertainment purposes. It also reflected
that, even though people were expecting to receive multiple matches as they were curious about
how online dating applications function, they did not really care if these people whom they
matched with were compatible to them or not. This again suggested that they were not looking for
people with whom they are comfortable or compatible, but they were only looking to fool around
with random strangers and experience a new technological phenomenon.

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Factor – 3: Negative Environment

. As users faced inappropriate behavior because of harassment online, their overall experience of
using dating applications is negative. Along with that, many users have indicated that if they don’t
indulge well in conversations or if they run out of topics to chat about, they are dissatisfied. Users
often felt that they are being objectified and judged upon their profile and online presence. This
causes unrest and anxiety which ultimately leads to dissatisfaction.

Factor – 4: Entertainment

This has always played a very important role when it comes to dating. People do not want to put
in a lot of efforts or go out of their ways in order to find people for dating through online
applications. They are sometimes just in it for the entertainment purposes. Dating apps provide the
best level of comfort as well as easier access to a lot of different people. And finding and
socializing with them becomes very easy and convenient for the users as they can do so by just
swiping right or left. There are many homes specially in India that consider dating as a taboo before
marriage. So, these applications provide an escape to the members of such families, conveniently
without being judged or ridiculed by their own people. The statements in this factor suggest that,
people find dating as a way to fins easy casual relationships, especially the ones which are short
term in nature. But it also suggests that, there people are the ones whose families are extremely
strict when it comes to dating. This can mean that the people are come from a stricter background,
engage themselves in short-lived relationships more, as a way to keep jumping from one person to
another. Furthermore, it is also mentioned that these users that not seeking emotional support from
the matches, and that are not them distract themselves frothier daily routines. This shows that, they
want to find good matches, but they do not wish to deeply involve themselves emotionally or
mentally or even engage in long-term relationships.

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Factor – 5: Self-Image Validation

Self-image means the mental image that an individual has of their own selves. These individuals
were not using dating applications to either improve their communication skills or to find people
who were smarter or more confident than they were. They did not also use these applications as
they did not have enough time to go out and socialize, as the factor loadings suggested that they
had enough time to go out but they still resorted to use dating applications as they were curious to
use and indulge in a new technological phenomenon. All of these things suggested that, while these
people wanted to use dating applications, they did not think that these applications can help them
improve their skills in any which way. Also, it reflects that these users were not looking to find
people who were better than them, which suggests that they were somehow trying to preserve their
own self-image and make themselves feel as if they are better-off than everyone else on the
platform.

Factor 6- Expanding Social Circles

Dating application have never failed to provide a buffet of different, like-minded people to their
users. They always have shown huge variety of users who come from various backgrounds, have
different interest, may be completely opposite to another fellow user, or have numerous skills
associated with them. This makes dating interesting for the users, as they are able to meet new
people, and learn about their perspectives. The statements in this factor suggest that, people who
find online dating is more convenient than traditional in-person dating, also wish to find people
who are polar-opposites to them. This shows a positive reaction between these statements as they
know that through dating online, they will be able to have a better chance in finding such people
as compared to traditional dating.

Furthermore, these users do not wish the users to comment on their appearances by looking at their
profile pictures, as they understand the picture on their profiles are worthy enough to be uploaded
there. These users are not seeking any kind of validation from the partners they match on through
the Internet.

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Factor – 7: Partner seeking behavior.

This factor suggests that there is a group of users who did not use dating applications because they
were curious about the service offering, but they used dating applications in order to find potential
compatible matches with whom they can have long-term relationships. This reflects that these
users were actively using these applications to find people with whom they can share their lives,
and every time they matched with someone and the conversation did not go as they planned, it
became a source of heavy dissatisfaction for them. These users did not care about the physical
appearance or characteristics of an individual for example, a user's height, weight, Skin tone,
features, et cetera. They were more interested in an individual's personality and inner-self as that
is more important when it comes to forming "real relationships."

Factor – 8: Seeking Casual connections

These users they don’t want anything or are not looking for anything specific they don’t have
enough time to go out and socialize so they prefer dating apps more and also get many options on
dating apps so they prefer these apps. They don’t have much expectations around they just want
to have connections there’s no one expectation that they are looking for and want to connect with
more people.

Factor – 9: Customer Experience based on types of matches

In this factor users are not satisfied with the application overall. They are using the application out
of boredom and they are also getting matches what generally people expect from the apps but they
are not satisfied as they are not getting people who are their type or meet their dating preferences.
So even if they are getting matches, they are not completely happy with the app.

In the below mentioned graph it also shows us that users of 18-25 are more satisfied to their
personal dating preferences and the satisfaction decreases as the age increases 23 to 30 are less
satisfies and users from 30 and above are least satisfied people in finding their preferred matches.

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Factor – 10: Customer experience based on number of matches

Many users are only concerned with the number of matches that they receive on dating apps. They
don’t seem to care regarding receiving any emotional support or having meaningful relationships
online. They also don’t seem to feel disappointed if they are ghosted by their matches online. It is
fair to say that they have multiple matches and if one match doesn’t revert, they always have others
to talk to. So, they prefer quantity over quality.

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HYPOTHESIS TESTING

• H0: The factors that motivate an individual to join a dating application would affect their
expectations from the application.

• H1: The factors that motivate an individual to join a dating application would not affect their
expectations from the application.

For this hypothesis, it can be concluded that the Null hypothesis (H0) is true, after conducting the
study. This can be concluded because it was found that users will always have some or the other
form of motivation to join a dating platform. And dating application hold an array of options and
uses. Which can range from finding short term or long-term partners, for entertainment, casual
relationships to even terminating boredom. This, in turn, forms the base of the users’ expectations
from the applications. So, the expectations from the dating applications increase, since the purpose
to be there, has to be fulfilled.

The second hypothesis that we set for our research was based on the variables of expectation and
satisfaction.
• H0: The expectations of an individual from a dating application affects their satisfaction and
experience.
• H2: The expectations of an individual from a dating application does not affect their
satisfaction and experience.

For our second hypothesis, it can be said that the Null Hypothesis (H0) is true, after conducting
the study. This is true because the expectation level of users has a direct link to what satisfaction
they will receive from the applications. We have understood about how motivation is directly
linked to expectation, but even expectations of a user are directly linked to satisfaction they get.
The motivating factors create a base for a person’s expectation level from the application. And the
dating applications have the job to fulfill them, as they are bound to consumer satisfaction. When
those expectation are not met, the dissatisfaction will increase and will create a negative notion of
the application.

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RESEARCH GAPS

Although extensive research has been done on the motivational factors for using dating apps,
expectations of dating app users and the factors that determine the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of
dating app users, research gap seems to appear in as these factors have always been studied
individually. There is a wide scope to study how these factors are ingrained and interwove with
each other, and how one affects the other. They seem to have a chain reaction on each subsequent
factor. Studying the overall satisfaction level of the dating app users with respect to their
motivators for using these apps and their expectation from these apps which essentially means that
it will help us to identify whether or not expectations are based on the motivational factors and
whether or not satisfaction or dissatisfaction levels are dependent a user’s subjective expectations
and how these three components impact each other. Lastly, it is observed that a research focusing
on the dating apps users living in the country of India has not been conducted. India has the largest
population of youth in the entire nation. Studying psychological aspects of online dating in terms
of usage motivation, experience and satisfaction can really help us in identifying how the youth of
the country views dating today.

The modern trend of online dating is extremely different than the traditional in-person dating. The
given research also helps us get a sneak peek into the modern trend of online dating and helps us
understand its dynamics, in terms of usage and functioning.

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LIMITATIONS

This research paper has some limitations which can be evaluated in the future studies on dating
applications. Convenience sampling was used for collecting the sample and thus it does not
represent the entire population. While studying the responses we found that most of the
respondents fell in the age group of 18-30 which makes our data skewed. The other thing that we
found out that some of the respondents had selected the “Neither agree nor disagree” option which
suggests that they were not sure about the extent of their motivators or expectation or satisfaction
factors. These responses reduce the reliability of the whole data and we could only make
assumptions on their basis.

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SUGGESTIONS

1. Dating applications use a mathematical algorithm to help people receive matches. These
mathematical algorithms are very rigid and hence, the matches are extremely search specific. Also,
the bio of a person on a dating profile contains information that is very specific, such as the height,
weight, complexion, religion, status of job, and et cetera. Dating applications have made dating a
search good, which has resulted in most users feeling dissatisfied, as these applications treat dating
as a searchable entity, where users have certain preferences and criteria for the people with whom
they want to match. These applications should try and foster a more experience related service
where they can not only make the person search for certain characteristics, but the model allows
them to build a wholesome experience that is over and above an individual's searchable traits.

2. One thing that has been made very clear through the research is that multiple people think
that dating applications foster a relatively negative environment. The creation of a negative
environment is dependent on the inappropriate experiences that are faced by its users. Multiple
users reflected that they were harassed either verbally or sexually on these applications. Over and
above them, there was a creation of a big misconception that multiple users recognized, that is
when they agreed to meeting someone in person, it was taken to be as an agreement to indulge in
sexual activities. Dating applications should try and take a step towards regulating the kind of
content that can be allowed to be sent via their application. They can create stricter policies for
people who harass other users verbally or physically on the applications. These policies can include
banning the people from using the application, banning their accounts, and also giving its users a
chance to register a police complaint if the need be. They can also create an internal system within
their organizations ecosystem to regulate such behavior and charge fines to people who have
harassed someone.

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CONCLUSION

In today’s society, online dating is a popular component of youth culture that continues to grow.
This research aimed to add to the body of literature regarding young adults and how they use online
dating. Using a theoretical framework based in understanding dating culture and people’s
perspective of it, this study was designed to answer the following questions: how are young adults
using online dating sites and apps, how well do they believe they are treated on these sites and to
what extent do they represent themselves honestly. The findings derived from the survey suggest
that young adults do use online dating and they do so for many reasons; many believe they are
discriminated against based on their appearance; many believe they have been lied to but few
perceive themselves as lying; and overall, they perceive online dating as positive and a normal
thing to do. Studying social phenomenon, like online dating amongst young adults, is essential for
gaining an understanding of ourselves and the changing landscape we live in.

The exhaustive thesis examined ways in which individuals divulge in online dating applications
and the gratification they seek. The responses from 212 participants who participated in the survey
were analysed and discussed in detail to draw conclusions about the nature of online dating
applications. A prominent dating application that appeals to today’s society, Tinder shows that
people use dating apps to seek attention, gain self-confidence and pass time. Males and females
are commonly stereotyped on online dating applications however, the overall representation of
genders is no longer determined by the society but by users themselves.

In our combined analysis of all the sets together, we found some really interesting points. In many
combined factors, we saw how different motivating factors affected the expectation factor, which
directly affected the satisfaction factors. This reflected have all the three factors were interwoven
with each other and how they all affected each other. This was quite a common occurrence. For
example, if an individual's motivating factor was to look for a potential partner, they expected to
receive multiple compatible matches and have good conversations with their matches, and if the
conversations and the matches were all in tune with their preferences and they could find potential
partners to date via the application, they were satisfied with the online dating experience. However,
in some cases we also identified how the motivating factors could directly affect the satisfaction
without having either serious expectations or expectations in general. In a classic case, we

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identified that when an individual came to a dating application with the motivating factor of
boredom, curiosity or wanting to experience a new technology without any expectations, they
generally were led to dissatisfaction due to a bad experience where they either had
bad/inappropriate conversations, bad matches or had experienced either verbal or sexual
harassment on the application. Given below are a few examples of some factors taken from
combined factor loadings list to help understand the same idea.

Combined Factor – 2: Curious to match

Combined Factor – 3: Negative Experience

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It is important to understand the impact online dating has on a person’s social abilities since many
users feel most confident hiding behind a cell phone screen. It is impossible to determine how this
will impact later generations, but presumably, based off of the information gained from this
research, the concept of in person dating will become part of the past and online dating applications
will dominate the dating realm more than they already do. This will impact a variety of things, but
mostly it will impact the way in which we communicate with one another. With technology ever
evolving, there is no end in sight for online dating applications as they are practically unstoppable.
The future is bright for this industry and for the users who actively pursue meaningful relationships
on the applications.

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REFERENCES

Ahuvia, A. (2009). Commercial channels for mate seeking. Ahuvia, A. C., Adelman, M. B., &
Izberk-Bilgin, E. Encyclopedia of human relationships, 1, 45-48.
Ayers, C. (2014). Tinder: The app that’s setting the dating scene on fire.
Berger, C. &. (1975). Some explorations in in initial interaction and beyond: Towards a
developmental theory of interpersonal communication. Human Communication
Research; Volume 1.
Cassandra Alexopoulos (PhD)a, E. T. (2019). Swiping more, committing less: Unraveling the
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19302387

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ANNEXURE

Exhibit – 1: GOOGLE FORM: QUESTIONNAIRE

Love at First Swipe - A study of Online Dating Application Usage and Experience

Instructions:

We are conducting a research to facilitate a study in the Online Dating Application Industry. We
aspire to study the variables of motivation, expectation and satisfaction in context to the usage
and experience of an individual on a dating application.

Your participation will remain completely anonymous and voluntary. It will take 7 to 10 minutes
for you to fill this form and it would be of a great help to us if you could spare the same. Thank
you for giving us your valuable time and input.

Question: 1

The statements below try to understand the reasons why you chose to use Dating Apps. Please
respond to the following statements to the best of your belief and opinion

Sr. Statements SA A NAND D SD

No.

1. I use dating apps because online dating is more convenient

than traditional in-person dating to find
partners/dates/friends

2. I use dating apps as I have too much time on my hand

3. I use dating apps because I see my friends getting a lot of

matches

4. I use dating apps because I see my friends meeting new

people through them

5. I use dating apps as a way to get over boredom

5. I use dating apps because it is a good way to find friends for

a casual relationship

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6. I use dating apps as I am curious about them

7. I use dating apps to improve my flirting skills

8. I was forced to use dating applications by my friends

9. I use dating apps because they provide me with multiple

options of a romantic partner to choose from

10. I use dating apps to improve my communication skills

11. I use dating apps as a way to distract myself from my every-

day routine and work

12. I use dating apps as I don’t have enough time to go socialise

in-person

13. I use dating apps because I come from a strict family

background where dating is considered to be a taboo

14. I use dating apps because I think it provides for an easier way
to socialise and meet multiple new people

15. I use dating apps as they help me boost my self-confidence

Question: 2

The statements below try to understand your expectations from Dating Apps. Please respond to
them to the best of your belief and opinion.

Sr. Statements SA A NAND D SD

No.

1. I expect to find like-minded people through dating apps

2. I expect to find a long-term partner by using a dating apps

3. I expect that dating apps can help me receive multiple

compatible matches

4. I expect to have interesting conversations with my matches

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5. I expect people to comment on my appearance and

attractiveness after they see my profile images

6. I expect to find a short-term casual partner by using a dating

application

7. I expect to create new friendships with the people I match on

dating apps

8. I expect to indulge in sexual activities virtually with the

people I have matched on dating apps

9. I expect to indulge in sexual activities physically/in-person

with the people I have matched on dating apps

10. I believe that a virtual sexual encounter with my matches

from the dating apps makes me feel guilty

11. I expect to find people more attractive than me

12. I expect to find emotional support from my matches on

dating apps

13. I expect to find people younger than me to date via dating

apps

14. I expect to find people older than me to date via dating apps

15. I expect to find people of a particular physical appearance

via dating apps

16. I expect people to want to have conversations with me

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Question: 3

The following set of statements seeks to understand your experience and satisfaction with dating
apps. Please answer to the best of your belief and opinion.

Sr. Statements SA A NAND D SD

No.

1. I feel satisfied with the number of matches I receive on dating

apps

I feel dissatisfied as the conversation I have had with my

matches did not go beyond basic, hi/hello/whats up

2. I feel dissatisfied as the conversations with my matches did

not go as planned

3. I feel that there are multiple fake/fraudulent profiles on

dating applications

4. I feel satisfied after using dating application as I match with

multiple like-minded people

5. I feel dissatisfied when the in-person meeting does not go as

well as expected

6. I feel ghosting people/matches is very common on dating

apps

7. I feel really sad/disappointed when someone ghosts me on a

dating app

8. I feel I often run out of topics to talk about with people I’ve
matched online

9. I have experienced a few uncomfortable and inappropriate

texts from my matches

10. I feel that people objectify me by looking at my pictures on

dating applications

11. I feel online dating elicits an assessment oriented mindset in

me when I am looking for the “right match”

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12. I have experienced that when I ask an online date for an in-
person meeting, it is often misunderstood as me agreeing to
sexual activity

13. I feel dissatisfied when there is often a mis-match between

the way a person chats and their bios/profiles

14. I feel dissatisfied when somebody drops a conversation in

between

15. I have been harassed sexually on a dating application

16. I have been harassed verbally on a dating application

17. I feel dissatisfied when there is a mis-match between an

individual's profile picture and their in-person appearance

18. I feel satisfied when my matches are similar to my personal

dating preferences

19. I will recommend dating applications to my friends

20. Overall, I was satisfied with my experience on the dating

application

21. After my current experience, I will continue using dating

applications in the future

Question: 4

Gender:

1. Male
2. Female
3. Prefer Not to Say

Question: 5

Frequency of Usage:

1. Daily
2. Weekly
3. Monthly

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4. No fixed Time

Question: 6

For how long have you been using dating applications?

1. 1 week
2. 1 month
3. 6 months
4. 1 year
5. More than a year

Question: 7

Which Dating applications have you used?

1. Tinder
2. Bumble
3. Okcupid
4. Happn
5. Hinge
6. Others:

Question: 8

Which feature of a dating profile interests you the most?

1. Bio
2. Profile Picture
3. Weight/Height
4. Religion
5. Hobbies
6. Work/Occupation/Education
7. Age

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Exhibit – 2: Factor Analysis of Motivation Set

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Exhibit – 3: Factor Analysis of Satisfaction Set

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Exhibit – 4: Factor Analysis of all sets combined

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Exhibit – 5: Factors derived from Factor loadings (combined set)

Factor
Number Statements Value Factor Name
I use dating apps because I see my friends getting a lot of
matches 0.478
I use dating apps to improve my flirting skills 0.383
I was forced to use dating applications by my friends 0.351
I use dating apps because I come from a strict family
background where dating is considered to be a taboo 0.472
Factor : 1 I expect to have interesting conversations with my matches -0.326 Casual Sex
I expect to find a short-term casual partner by using a dating
application 0.324
I expect to indulge in sexual activities virtually with the people
I have matched on dating apps 0.494
I expect to indulge in sexual activities physically/in-person
with the people I have matched on dating apps 0.353
I expect to find people younger than me to date via dating apps 0.432
I use dating apps as a way to get over boredom 0.319
I use dating apps because I see my friends getting a lot of
matches 0.348
I use dating apps as I am curious about them 0.348
I was forced to use dating applications by my friends 0.376
I use dating apps because I come from a strict family
background where dating is considered to be a taboo 0.312
I expect to find people who have similar interests as I have
through dating apps -0.425
I expect that dating apps can help me receive multiple
Factor : 2 compatible matches -0.427 Curious to Match
I expect to have interesting conversations with my matches -0.392
I expect people to comment on my appearance and
attractiveness after they see my profile images -0.374
I expect to find a short-term casual partner by using a dating
application -0.345
I expect to indulge in sexual activities virtually with the people
I have matched on dating apps -0.335
I expect to indulge in sexual activities physically/in-person
with the people I have matched on dating apps -0.503
I expect people to want to have conversations with me -0.365

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I have been harassed verbally on a dating application 0.321

I use dating apps because it is a good way to find friends for a
casual relationship -0.373
I use dating apps because they provide me with multiple
options of a romantic partner to choose from -0.357
I use dating apps as a way to distract myself from my every-
day routine and work -0.303
I use dating apps as they help me boost my self-confidence -0.312
I feel I often run out of topics to talk about with people I’ve
matched online 0.365 Negative
Factor : 3
Experiences
I feel really sad/disappointed when someone ghosts me on a
dating app 0.303
I feel that people objectify me by looking at my pictures on
dating applications 0.326
I have experienced that when I ask online date for in-person
meeting, it misunderstood as me agreeing to sexual act 0.336
I have been harassed verbally on a dating application 0.398
I have been harassed sexually on a dating application 0.489
I use dating apps as a way to get over boredom 0.359
I use dating apps because it is a good way to find friends for a
casual relationship 0.313
I use dating apps as a way to distract myself from my every-
day routine and work -0.309
I use dating apps because I come from a strict family
Factor : 4 For Entertainment
background where dating is considered to be a taboo -0.33
I expect to find a short-term casual partner by using a dating
application 0.33
I expect to find emotional support from my matches on dating
apps -0.37
I feel ghosting people/matches is very common on dating apps 0.334
I use dating apps to improve my communication skills -0.355
I use dating apps as I don’t have enough time to go socialise in-
person -0.354 Self-Image
Factor : 5
Validation
I expect to find people who are more confident than I am -0.332
I expect to find people who are smarter than I am -0.398
I use dating apps because online dating is more convenient than
traditional in-person dating to find partners/dates 0.455 Expanding Social
Factor : 6
I expect people to comment on my appearance and Circles
attractiveness after they see my profile images -0.32

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I expect to find people who are polar-opposite to me on dating

applications 0.321
I use dating apps as I am curious about them -0.365
I expect to find a long-term partner by using a dating apps 0.314
I expect to find people who are more confident than I am -0.347 Partner Seeking
Factor : 7
I feel satisfied with the number of matches I receive on dating Behaviour
apps 0.413
I feel dissatisfied as the conversations with my matches did not
go as planned 0.313
I use dating apps as I don’t have enough time to go socialise in-
person 0.349
I expect to find a long-term partner by using a dating apps -0.302 Seeking Casual
Factor : 8
I expect to find people of a particular physical appearance via Connections
dating apps (in terms of height, weight, skin tone, et cetera) -0.325
I expect to find people who are more attractive than I am -0.364
I use dating apps as a way to get over boredom 0.336 customer
I feel satisfied with the number of matches I receive on dating experience on
Factor : 9 apps 0.329 dating apps is based
I feel satisfied when my matches are similar to my personal on the type of
dating preferences -0.308 matches
I expect that dating apps can help me receive multiple customer
compatible matches 0.32 experience of
I expect to find emotional support from my matches on dating dating apps is based
Factor : 10
apps -0.382 on the number of
I feel really sad/disappointed when someone ghosts me on a matches that they
dating app -0.378 receive

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Exhibit – 6: Graphs

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Exhibit – 7: Transcript – Online Dating Interviews

Transcript: 1

Name – Priyanka Mathur

Age – 20

Gender – Female

Dating application – Bumble

Usage – Daily, currently not using any dating application

Motivators – “College life is hectic and I’m not dating anyone in college. So, I don’t get time to
meet people out of college, hence dating apps was a good way to meet new people”

• Seeking romantic relationship if found a potential match

• Not looking for anything casual or hook-ups

Willing to meet someone they’ve met online – Yes, willing to meet if it’s a nice decent guy and
they really hit it off

Scale – On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction level after using this dating
application?

Scale Rating – 2

1 2 3 4 5

Would you prefer International Exposure through these apps – No, its not practical as there are
slight chances, we’ll ever meet them in real life

Gender Roles question

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The conventional way is where a guy approaches a girl and talks to her first, puts in all efforts to
get her to like him. But because of these dating apps, now girls are making the first move. So, do
you think the gender roles are reversed or they should be reversed through the medium of these
applications?

PM- Yes, nowadays everyone is trying something or other new so I don’t mind making the first
move or approach a guy if I’m really interested. Also, here on Bumble only girls can text a guy
and a boy are not allowed to text a girl beforehand. So, I feel like this condition should be removed
or else how will a girl know if the guy is interested in them or not. Texting should be allowed from
both sides.

Final comments on your experience of using Bumble

People shouldn’t use it at all. Now, people have got more used to having casual stuff and it has
really changed the whole dating attitude of teenagers now. I feel that there is no place for genuine
relationships here and everyone is concerned about only one thing – Casual relationship or
hookup

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Transcript: 2

Name – Simran Shukla

Age – 21

Gender – Female

Dating application – Bumble, Tinder & Hinge, currently not using any dating application

Usage – Not used simultaneously any dating application. I used to have spurts so if I’m using them
then I’ll use it for 3-4 days straight and then not use it for the whole month.

Motivators – Started using it largely because of boredom and to find someone to talk and maybe
hope that if that person turns out to be nice then I wouldn’t mind taking it forward. I always let it
flow, if I find someone great, if not then great as well.

Wasn’t successful in finding any potential match

Willing to meet someone they’ve met online – Yes, I’m willing to meet the person but it depends
on his personality and our comfort level but if got an opportunity, would definitely try to meet in
person. A lot of times I’m apprehensive because of security reasons but nevertheless, I’d like to
meet the person.

Scale – On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction level after using this dating
application?

Scale Rating

TINDER - 2
1 2 3 4 5

BUMBLE - 2
1 2 3 4 5

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HINGE
1 2 3 4 5

Hinge – The format of hinge being more question based and prompt base, provides space for more
conversation unlike Tinder where conversations often end after basic introduction because nobody
knows what to say next.

Would you prefer International Exposure through these apps – No, wouldn’t prefer international
exposure as its not practical and also no chance to meet that person in real life. Wouldn’t want to
waste time and efforts talking to someone knowing well that we might not see each other ever.
Getting to know the person offline is important for me and if this is the case, then probably ill not
take it seriously.

Gender Roles question

The conventional way is where a guy approaches a girl and talks to her first, puts in all efforts to
get her to like him. But because of these dating apps, now girls are making the first move. So, do
you think the gender roles are reversed or they should be reversed through the medium of these
applications?

SS- Yes, I agree. These days a lot of things are changing specially on Bumble where women are
making the first move and they’re not waiting for their matches to start talking. But a lot more has
to be done to make it an equal space for men and women. Prevent catfishing and eradicate safety
concerns for people is where the focus should be.

Final comments on your experience of using Bumble

When these apps emerged in market, they provided great people to meet and bond with. But somewhere these
apps lost the track of what kind of people, people actually want to meet. So, I think their algorithms need to be
better. The people shown on our profile need to be in accordance with our preferences. That’s where these
apps are falling short of.
As far as whether people should or should not use it, I think it’s a very personal thing and its totally up to
them. But, one thing I can say for sure is that this is not for me. I don’t expect that I’ll find a long-term
relationship out of an online platform. It all feels very filtered and no real conversation takes86place
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Transcript: 3

Name – Rahul Shah

Age – 20

Gender – Male

Dating application – Bumble & Tinder, had an account but stopped using, recently (2 weeks)
joined again- currently using

Usage – Use Bumble daily but Tinder on weekly basis

Reasons - People on Bumble are quite filtered, the quality of people is nice and many short aspects
of Bumble like it lets you know whether the other person drinks/smokes, favorite pastime activities
so all in all helps to make a better decision. All of these are missing on Tinder so not an interesting
app as compared to Bumble

Motivators –

• Started using it for entertainment purposes

• Seeking casual relationships and friendship
• To boost self-esteem and confidence
• Wanted to try out something new, also peer pressure. Friends were using so thought ill give
it a try as well

Willing to meet someone they’ve met online – Depends on the person I’m talking to and if I’m
bored and have nothing to do then wouldn’t mind setting up a meet up.

Scale – On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction level after using this dating
application?

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Scale Rating

TINDER – 1
1 2 3 4 5

BUMBLE – 2
1 2 3 4 5

INSTAGRAM - 5
1 2 3 4 5

Instagram has been extremely successful in dating, even better than the mainline dating
applications. Got to know people with whom I’m already friends with and enjoyed the overall
experience.

Would you prefer International Exposure through these apps – I would give it try but I found it
okay when I used one of the features of Tinder during lockdown; called Tinder Passport. It allowed
me to talk to people in different cities but not outside the country.

Gender Roles question

The conventional way is where a guy approaches a girl and talks to her first, puts in all efforts to
get her to like him. But because of these dating apps, now girls are making the first move as well.
So, do you think the gender roles are reversed or they should be reversed through the medium of
these applications?

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RS- I’ve experienced both of these on dating applications where women are like let’s talk further
on Instagram or snapchat and I’ve done it as well. So, I feel like its equal and it should be that way
only.

Final comments on your experience of using Bumble

If you want to use a dating application then you should be open minded and that you shouldn’t
Transcript:
expect much4 from these applications in terms of a romantic or genuine relationship per se.
Name – Ruby D’Souza

Age – 22

Gender – Female

Dating application – Hinge & OkCupid

Usage –Twice a week, currently using

Motivators –

• Wanted to seek romantic relationship

• To meet new people and get to know them
• Peer pressure- My friends were using these applications, so I thought I’d give it a try as
well

Willing to meet someone they’ve met online – Yes, willing to meet someone if I really like that
person and find them interesting enough to meet in person

Scale – On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction level after using this dating
application?

Scale Rating

Hinge – 3
1 2 3 4 5

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OkCupid – 4
1 2 3 4 5

Would you prefer International Exposure through these apps – No, don’t prefer international
exposure; not interested.

Gender Roles question

The conventional way is where a guy approaches a girl and talks to her first, puts in all efforts to
get her to like him. But because of these dating apps, now girls are making the first move. So, do
you think the gender roles are reversed or they should be reversed through the medium of these
applications?

RD – Yes, I agree with you. Nowadays, its nothing like the boys are not supposed to talk or
approach a girl first. And it seems fair to me. If I like someone and want to know them, then I
wouldn’t mind texting that person first. I don’t want to sit around waiting for my match to text me.
I’m a very spontaneous person and I make things happen for myself.

Final comments on your experience of using these apps.

Before joining these apps, I was well aware of the most popular dating apps like Tinder and Bumble.
So, I didn’t want to make a profile on them because over time their value and quality has only
degraded. People use those only for casual and hook-ups and I wasn’t looking for anything like that.
I like the apps I’m using and it has helped me to work on my personality as well. These apps are not
as bad as people perceive them to be. You just need to be open-minded and confident about yourself.
5.

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Transcript: 5

Name – Ishaan Naik

Age – 24

Gender – Male

Dating application – Tinder & Hinge

Usage – Use tinder almost every day and Hinge about 3-4 times a week, currently using

Motivators –

• I’m a working professional, so I don’t get time out of work to meet new people or date
• Thought this would be a good medium to find someone nice enough to date
• Don’t mind casual relationship
• While using these apps, my self-esteem boosts and I feel good about myself. So, I also use
it for personal reasons like this

Willing to meet someone they’ve met online – No, I don’t have time to meet anyone. It’s not like
I’m busy always but if I feel like it’s an important person then I will take time out of my busy
schedule to meet that girl. Also, I’d prefer to meet someone that I’ve met on Hinge instead of
Tinder.

Scale – On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction level after using this dating
application?

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Scale Rating

Hinge – 4
1 2 3 4 5

Tinder – 3
1 2 3 4 5

Would you prefer International Exposure through these apps – Yes, why not. It’s interesting to try
something new and id definitely like to try it out. I even used Tinder passport feature that was
launched during lockdown and met a lot of lovely ladies.

Gender Roles question

The conventional way is where a guy approaches a girl and talks to her first, puts in all efforts to
get her to like him. But because of these dating apps, now girls are making the first move. So, do
you think the gender roles are reversed or they should be reversed through the medium of these
applications?

IN- I believe no one should wait for anyone to make the first move. I wouldn’t want to date
someone who is willing to let go of a guy if he doesn’t approach first. If you like someone then
why wait? It is a good thing that because of these apps girls are approaching first and making the
first move as well. I’ve a lot of female friends who approached me first and honestly, I like that
energy.

Final comments on your experience of using these apps.

I agree when people quote that Tinder is only for hook-ups and casual stuff because I’ve
seen it myself. But if you’re into things like that, then these apps are going to be very
helpful to you! But you seek a romantic relationship then you gotta get off the net and
explore like previously people used to do. Dating for me is like having a sweet office92 | P a g e
romance and not finding a girl on Tinder and taking things forward with her.
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1. Name, age and gender

ABHIRAJ SHARMA, AGE 20 YEARS, MALE

2. Are you currently using any dating applications?

No, currently I’m not using any application.

3. When did you use online dating and which were the applications you used?
I started using dating apps in my first year of college when I was 17 years and I used them for
about 4 months. I only used Tinder.

4. What was the frequency of using them?

I used them almost twice a day for 2 months and then later on It got reduced to a weekly basis.

5. What was the motivation behind using the applications?

I would say my main motivations were -casual relationships, finding flings and hookups, and
finding company and people to hang out with.

6. How was your satisfaction level on the app?

So, I found many matches, but none of them were upto the mark for me. Meaning that they didn’t
suit my personality or what I really wanted.

7. On a scale of 1 to, how would you rate your satisfaction through the dating app that you used?
Ans: 3

8. How willing are you to meet the person in real life whom you found virtually?
I’m not that willing to meet anyone in person, mainly because of security reasons I wished to
continue virtually only.

9. So, when we observe dating apps, traditionally or conventionally speaking, it is always expected
of the male to make the first move and take steps to further the relationship, according to you, is
this also the scenario in dating apps? Do you think the roles are reversed or that they should be

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reversed?

Honestly, what I noticed on Tinder was that the roles were not reversed at all. Meaning, even on
the virtual platform, I had to be one taking the further steps. And in my opinion, the roles should
be reversed as it provides the females a sense of independence and the males a boost in their self-
esteems, its a win-win situation for everyone.

10. The apps which are used in India are limited to the boundaries of your state, city or country.
Do you ever wish to connect yourself to people in foreign countries?

No, I don’t see a point in doing that, because it wouldn’t make sense to me. If we were ever to
connect really well, we won't be able to meet in person.

11. Any other generic comments that you’d like to share regarding dating apps?
I just want to say that, if you want you can use them, but keep your expectations low. Don’t
approach these apps in order to find anything serious.

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1. Name, age and gender

Neha Patel, AGE 20 YEARS, FEMALE

2. Are you currently using any dating applications?

No, currently I’m not using any application.

3. When did you use online dating and which were the applications you used?
I started online dating when I was in my second year of college. And I only used Bumble. I sued
the app for about 5 months, I still have my account but I don’t use it. Apart from that, I used
Whisper, which is not a dating app, but I did interact with many people there.

4. What was the frequency of using them?

I used them almost on a daily basis, but later on I got bored so that changed to weekly.

5. What was the motivation behind using the applications?

I would say my main motivations were - building my own personality AND interacting with
different people.

6. How was your satisfaction level on the app?

To be honest, the application wasn’t really helpful in finding what I needed.

7. On a scale of 1 to, how would you rate your satisfaction through the dating app that you used?
2, mainly because all the people I matched with weren’t suitable to me, and after talking to them
for 2 days, I kept losing my interest.

8. How willing are you to meet the person in real life whom you found virtually?
I’m willing to meet anyone in person, but I did not. Had I found a nice person, and a trustworthy
person, I would have initiated that.

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9. So, when we observe dating apps, traditionally or conventionally speaking, it is always expected
of the male to make the first move and take steps to further the relationship, according to you, is
this also the scenario in dating apps? Do you think the roles are reversed or that they should be
reversed?
I only used Bumble, which requires only the females to make the first move. So I felt that to be
extremely liberating for women, as it gives us a sense of power. I do feel that its not always the
male’s responsibility to take it further.

10. The apps which are used in India are limited to the boundaries of your state, city or country.
Do you ever wish to connect yourself to people in foreign countries?
Yes, I would really like to meet people abroad. Even though I don’t get the chance to meet them
in person, I feel it would give a sense of knowledge and curiosity about the lifestyles of people
outside.

11. Any other generic comments that you’d like to share regarding dating apps?
All I’d like to add from my experience is that, one should always try it once, and should have the
experience of using them. But shouldn’t get habituated to them.

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1. Name, age and gender

Anaya Bhatt, 20 years, Female.

2. Are you currently using any dating applications?

Yes, currently I have an active account on Bumble. Not any other apps.

3. When did you use online dating and which were the applications you used?
I started online dating when I was in my last year of school. And then I sued it actively, but now I
just use them occasionally, not that frequently.

4. What was the frequency of using them?

I used them almost on a daily basis, but right now, I only use them when I’m bored or feeling like
talking to someone,

5. What was the motivation behind using the applications?

I would say my main motivations were - entertainment.
To be honest, it was never my idea to start using online dating apps, I was forced to use them due
to peer pressure and friends really insisted that I try it out.

6. How was your satisfaction level on the app?

Satisfaction wasn’t up to the mark. So initially I got really good matches, but layer on, it wasn’t
really providing me good people to talk to.

7. On a scale of 1 to, how would you rate your satisfaction through the dating app that you used?
3, because of the dame reasons as mentioned before. And also, because, my purpose of being
entertained was actually fulfilled.

8. How willing are you to meet the person in real life whom you found virtually?
I’m willing to meet anyone in person. Only if we have a good sense of understanding and trust.

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9. So, when we observe dating apps, traditionally or conventionally speaking, it is always expected
of the male to make the first move and take steps to further the relationship, according to you, is
this also the scenario in dating apps? Do you think the roles are reversed or that they should be
reversed?
I only used Bumble, and was actually helpful in making me feel in power, and I was the only one
making the first move as the app requires me to. In my opinion, I would ask out a guy in real life
too. And I would just like to add that even tinder can apply this strategy.

10. The apps which are used in India are limited to the boundaries of your state, city or country.
Do you ever wish to connect yourself to people in foreign countries?
No, I’m not willing to meet foreigners, I generally have a shy personality, I feel it may become
awkward as it may not have common topics or understanding.

11. Any other generic comments that you’d like to share regarding dating apps?
I just want to say that these applications are good for something casual, fun and passing time. But
shouldn’t be used to find real and serious relationships.

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Transcript: 9

Name: Mihir Bhatia

Age: 20

Duration of usage: 2 years

Apps used: Bumble Hinge Tinder

Motivation:

- casual flings and sex

- Hypersexual

- Emotional validation

Expectations:

- Meeting potential people

- Hypersexuality need for multiple partners

- Self-worth and validation from others

- Faster way to meet

- More friends and better friends

Satisfaction

- Yeah, when it came to application interface

- Yeah, when it came to getting sexual gratification

- Yeah, when it came to wanting girls and meeting potential partners

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Name: Mihir Kanani

Age: 21

Applications used: Bumble 2 years

Duration: Tinder 1 year

Motivation:

- explore new tech and dating styles

- Talk to new people

- Peer influence

Expectations:

- expected instant matches led to dissatisfaction, effected on an emotional level as did not get
matches instantaneously

- Expected to meet new people

- "Right person"

- Tired of having the same faces around

Satisfaction:

- as zero meet ups in person but multiple matches on the apps

- Deception as bio's

- As it was all on text, tone deaf

- As did not get a lot of matches

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Name: Yash Chawla

Age: 21

Duration of usage: Tinder 30 days, Bumble 30 days

Motivation

- wanting to meet new people in your college area, Bombay, new city

- To see what kind of people are around him in a new city

- Boredom

Expectations

- Did not expect to meet people out

- Doom scrolling

Satisfaction

- not satisfied as deceptive and fake profiles

- Boys to girl ratio

- Boys do not get a lot of matches

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Name: Bilal Sheikh

Age: 21

Duration of usage: Bumble 3 years

Motivation

- too much free time

Expectations

- A need to meet new people

- Long term relationship needs

Satisfied

- bad app not satisfied

- Bad in person meets

- Fake profiles and deception

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Vedant Johari, 20 years, Male

Q Are you on a dating app right now

Yes, current I am using Bumble and tinder

Q Since how long have you been using dating apps and how often do you use them?

I am using dating apps for 2 years now and I mostly used them when I am bored

Q What was the motivation behind using these applications?

Initially it was because I went to study out for my college so meeting new people as I was new in
the city and I didn’t know many people there.

Q Were you satisfied with these apps?

Yes, I met a quite a lot of matches met a new people and I am still friends with most of them so I
was pretty satisfied as I was new in the city and got to explore.

Q How would you rate your experience on the app out of 10?

I would rate it 7/10 as I met some really good people but also there are too many fake profiles too
on these apps

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Prabal Pratap single, 21, Male

Q Are you on a dating app right now

No, I just uninstalled it few days back. I was using Bumble

Q Since how long have you been using dating apps and how often do you use them?

I have been using them after I got over with my 12th grade and I was an active user.

Q What was the motivation behind using this application?

I downloaded it because of boredom and I was looking for something casual and flings basically
for the reasons these apps are known for

Q Were you satisfied with these apps?

Well, I didn’t find appropriate matches and people I was looking for so I wasn’t pretty much
satisfied

Q How would you rate your experience on the app out of 10?

I would rate it 4/10 for the above reasons mentioned

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Dhairyavaan Dhawan, 20, Male

Q Are you on a dating app right now

No, I just deleted it few months back. I was using bumble and Tinder

Q Since how long have you been using dating apps and how often do you use them?

I had been using it from a long time. I was a someone who used it 6 months then uninstalled it and
then started using it again so I used to download it again and again

Q What was the motivation behind using these applications?

I was looking for a serious relationship and my friends also insisted me to join it as I may find
someone on these apps so this was the basic motivation

Q Were you satisfied with these apps?

I was pretty much satisfied as the girl I am dating now I met her on Bumble so this the reason I am
not using the dating apps now

Q How would you rate your experience on the app out of 10?

I have always found good people on these apps so I would rate it 8/10

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Uttara Santar, 21 years, Female

Q Are you on a dating app right now

Yes, I am on Bumble

Q Since how long have you been using dating apps and how often do you use them?

I have been on/off on these apps. I was using it before lockdown when I was in Mumbai and now
I downloaded again

Q What was the motivation behind using these applications?

Just meeting new people my friends forced me to join the app

Q Were you satisfied with these apps?

They are okay I haven’t met anyone whom I am friends with till now mostly there are creeps

Q How would you rate your experience on the app out of 10?

I would rate it 3/10

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Vanshika Gupta, 20 years, Female

Q Are you on a dating app right now

Yes, I am on dating apps

Q Since how long have you been using dating apps and how often do you use them?

I have been using them since a year now. I use them quite often 3-4 times in a week mostly

Q What was the motivation behind using these applications?

I am looking for a serious partner

Q Were you satisfied with these apps?

Not yet as mostly I have met people who just want a casual scene

Q How would you rate your experience on the app out of 10?

I would rate it 5/10

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