Risk perceptions and behaviours among youth using dating applications in Mumbai

INTRODUCTION

Establishing a committed romantic relationship is one of the primary goals of young adulthood.¹ The process of building and maintaining a committed romantic relationship is characterized by trial-and-error and can be preceded by an explorative phase that involves casual sex adventures.^2,3 During the last decade, Internet has become an important platform to initiate contact with potential romantic or sexual partners.⁴ With the rise of smartphone use, dating websites have made way for dating applications (apps) specially designed for the smartphone, that is, mobile dating. The Statista Market Forecast estimated that by the end of 2019, there were more than 200 million active users of dating apps worldwide.⁵ It has been noted that more than 10 million people use Tinder daily, which has been downloaded more than a hundred million times worldwide.^6,7 In addition, studies conducted in different geographical and cultural contexts have shown that around 40% of single adults are looking for an online partner.⁸

Initially in India, dating websites had little presence. Instead, it was chat rooms (Yahoo, MSN) and messaging services on social networking platforms (Orkut, Hi5, Facebook) that were the places where intimate connections (not explicitly aimed at marriage) were being imagined and forged.⁹ This was particularly valuable for those who had trouble expressing face to face about their sexual orientation and/or finding a partner.¹⁰

Online dating apps such as Tinder are changing the way Indians date. Users capture the same social cues from app profiles, as it does when you meet someone in the offline world. It has led to newer ways of communication and behaviors amongst the youth of urban India. The Indian youth in their twenties are shifting their usage pattern from ‘Dating’ to more of a ‘Socializing’ purpose and creating strong ties.¹¹ There is a stereotype that dating apps are used only, or above all, to look for casual sex. In fact, these applications have been accused of generating a hookup culture, associated with superficiality and sexual frivolity. However, in the last five years, a large body of literature has been generated on the reasons why people use dating apps, and the conclusion is unanimous: apps serve multiple purposes, among which casual sex is only one.^12,13 It has been observed that up to 70% of the app users participating in a study indicated that their goal when using it was not sex-seeking.¹⁴

A Brigham Young University nursing team examined the medical exam records of Utah sexual assault victims from 2017 to 2020 which revealed 14% of the 1,968 rapes perpetrated by acquaintances, took place during an initial meeting set up using a dating app. In certain instances, the attacks were more violent and victims with mental problems and other vulnerabilities were specifically targeted.¹⁵

According to a statement by Tinder, “Thirty-eight percent of girls and women report being bullied online, compared to 26 percent men and boys. Twenty-six percent of women aged 18-24 reported being stalked and 25 percent reported being a target of online harassment.”¹⁶ As per the available literature, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of dating apps amongst the youth of the country. This has been accompanied by increase in sexually transmitted infections among the youth, along with increased crimes in association with use of dating apps. The current study is an attempt to estimate the usage of dating apps among young adults, the target users of these apps along with reasons for use and its social, physical and mental implications on their health. Notably, very few studies have been done in India in this context making this study unique and relevant.

METHODS

Study design

An epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2023 and October 2023 across selected higher education colleges located in suburban Mumbai, India.

Study population

The study population comprised male and female undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18 to 25 years.

Inclusion criteria

Participants aged between 18-25 years, and studying in one of the selected colleges were included in the study.

Exclusion criteria

Participants diagnosed/on treatment for any mental disorders were excluded from the trial.

Sample size

Prevalence of use of dating apps among persons between 18-25 years is 35% according to a nationwide survey.¹⁷ According to the formula: n = 4pq/L², where n is sample size, p is prevalence rate, q - 100-p and L - absolute error taken as 3%. Thus, the minimum sample size required for the study is 1012.

Sampling methods

A study was conducted among the youth of a metropolitan city to estimate the usage of dating applications. Ethical approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee was obtained. (HBTMC/IEC/09-23/O/RP/ 085/28022023/2023). The study was conducted amongst participants aged between 18-25 years studying in randomly selected colleges in a suburban area of Mumbai. Required permissions from College Principals/Deans were obtained. Participants were interviewed using a Google form-based questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated by independent subject experts. Following Helsinki Declaration, Informed Consent was obtained from all participants at the beginning of the Google form. Questionnaire included socio-demographic data, questions regarding use, reasons and implications of use of dating apps by the students. After the survey, health education session regarding pros and cons of dating applications along with safe sex behavior was conducted for all participants of the study.

Statistical analysis

Data was entered in Microsoft EXCEL and analyzed using SPSS VERSION 22.0. The qualitative data is represented in the form of frequency and percentage and quantitative data is represented in the form of mean, standard deviation. The comparison between the two groups for various factors was done using Chi square test.

RESULTS

A cross-sectional study was done to estimate the use of dating applications among the youth of a metropolitan city. A total of 1641 respondents participated in the study. Majority of the participants were females, belonging to the age group between 18-21 years (Table 1).

Dating applications were used by 208 (12.7%) participants in the current study, amongst them the most commonly used apps were bumble (43.9%) followed by tinder (22.3%), hinge (13.8%), grindr (11.5%) and others viz. okcupid, aisle, happn (8.5%). Among the subjects, 111 (11.2%) of the females and 97 (14.9%) of the males were using dating apps. Moreover, 626 (38.1%) of the respondents affirmed using other social media applications for dating. Multiple apps were used for the purpose of dating by most users (62.7%). The most commonly used applications were Instagram (84.5%), Snapchat (35.7%), Facebook (7%) and Twitter (4.9%). Gender-wise more males (41.6%) used other apps for dating in comparison to females (35.5%). Among the male study participants, 501 (76.9%) were not in a relationship, 93 (14.3%) were dating and 57 (8.8%) were involved in a casual relationship. Similarly, in the female population, 727 (73.9%) were single, 183 (18.6%) were dating and 54 (7.5%) were involved in a casual relationship. Among the female study participants, 246 (25%) were homosexuals and 63 (6.4%) were bisexuals whereas the numbers in male respondents were 218 (33.5%) and 27 (4.1%) respectively. Habits like smoking, alcohol etc. were noted in 79 (12.1%) of male population as compared to 93 (9.5%) of the female participants (Table 1).

Among the study population using dating apps, major reasons for use were finding love/partner (63, 30.2%), casual sex (59, 28.7%) and exploring/experimenting (56, 26.9%) (Figure 1).

The association between sexual encounter was statistically significant with habits (p value 0.001) relationship status (p value <0.00001) and untoward incidents due to use (p value 0.0004). Also, the association between habits was statistically significant with untoward incident (p value 0.034) [non-tabulated data] (Table 2).

^$Data clubbed/pooled for analysis purpose; *P value significant at <0.05

In the study population using dating apps, 102 (49%) met someone from the app and 72 (34.6%) had sexual encounter with someone they met through the application. Only 43 (20.7%) formed a meaningful relationship with someone they met through the application (Table 3). Among the respondents using dating apps, 24 (11.5%) met with an untoward incident and was seen more in males 12 (12.4%) as compared to females 12 (10.8%). The most common untoward incident reported was blackmail and identity leak 10 (42%) followed by Sexually Transmitted Infections 5 (21%), sexual violence 4 (17%), financial frauds 3 (12%) and physical violence 2 (8%). Also, 24 (11.5%) regretted using the app with the proportion being higher in females 15 (13.5%) compared to males 9 (9.3%). Moreover, more males 56 (57.8%) were comfortable in recommending the app to others as compared to females 56 (50.5%) (Table 3).

DISCUSSION

The present study was conducted to estimate the use of dating apps by youth from a Metropolitan city in India along with understanding the reasons and implications of their use. In the current study, 208 (12.7%) participants were using dating applications. The usage in this study is less as compared to study by Sawyer et al (39.5%) and most of the available literature.^17,18 There may be under-reporting of use of apps by the students. The reason for under reporting may be stigma associated with the use of dating apps in Indian setting as participants may not be comfortable about sharing their personal life. Also in the current study, it was observed a substantial number of subjects viz. 626 (38.1%) were using other multiple social media applications for the purpose of dating. Among the study subjects using dating apps, usage was more in males (14.9%) as compared to females (11.2%). Similarly, study by Abramova et al observed higher use amongst the male gender.¹⁹ Another study by Timmermans et al noted that men use apps more often and more intensely. On the other hand, women use these applications more selectively and effectively. Thereby more matches are accumulated and much faster by women than men, allowing them variety of choices and greater sense of control.¹² The association between male gender and app use was statistically significant in our study and was in agreement with available literature.^12,19,20

Out of the subjects using dating apps, majority 115 (55.3%) were residing in city since more than 3 years. The finding is in accordance with study by Licoppe which observed that majority of users of dating applications are from urban areas.²¹ The reason for this could be the culture and trends in cities along with peer pressure from friends for using the app. Majority of the available literature points to increased use of apps among cities, but paucity of research in semi-urban and rural areas may be a potential bias for such observations.

The association between use of dating app was statistically significant with relationship status as majority of the app users-156 (75%) were single/ looking for casual sex at the time of using apps. Similar observation has been noted by Castro et al. where being single was the most important predictor for use of dating apps.²⁰ In the current study, 52 (25%) subjects who were already dating were also using the app. Recent literature points to increase in the use of apps in people already in a relationship, the reason for which may include boredom, trust issues and thrill-seeking behaviour among the subjects.¹²

Also, sexual preferences of the individual had significant association with use of dating apps. Traditionally, dating apps have been used majorly by heterosexual individuals.²² In our study, 19 (8.7%) and 32 (13%) of the total homosexual males and females were using dating apps respectively. In the respondents using dating apps, 51 (24.5%) were homosexual and 22 (10.6%) were bisexual. Similarly, observations from various new literature reveals the use of dating apps has increased significantly in sexual minority groups especially in the male gender. However, in our findings it was observed that more homosexual females were using the app. This may indicate the penetration of app in the more vulnerable groups like female homosexuals. For these groups, being able to communicate online is important as it may be difficult for expressing their sexual orientation and/or finding a partner on the offline phase.^12,22

In the study participants, habits like smoking, alcohol etc. were significantly associated with use of dating apps. Similar observations were made by Flesia et al in their study to find the association between smoking, alcohol consumption and use of dating apps.^23,24 These findings suggest that high risk behavior like smoking, alcohol, drugs etc. are major determinants for the use of dating apps.

Amongst the participants using dating apps, 102 (49%) met with someone they connected through the app. The findings were consistent with the study by Strugo et al where more than 50% of the participants met their matches in real life.²⁵ Also, 72 (34.6%) subjects in the current study had sexual encounter with someone they met via the app. Similar results were noted in the studies by Timmermans et al and Strugo et al where one third and more than half of the study participants had sex with their matches respectively.^12,25

Most of the study subjects involved in sexual activity viz. 61 (84.7%) used condoms during sexual intercourse thereby suggesting safe sex practices in the study population. However, in most available literature, dating apps have been associated with high risk and unsafe sex practices.^18,26 The findings suggest increase in knowledge about STIs and safe sexual behavior among students, which is a welcome change. Another reason for this could be the various awareness sessions regarding safe sex practices being organized for students annually in their respective colleges.

Among the participants using dating apps, 166 (79.8%) and 152 (73.1%) answered in the negative when asked about receiving information about STI and predatory profiles respectively from the app. Similar observations have been made in available literature warranting increased awareness and responsibility by makers of the apps for safeguarding interests of their users.^18,27

In this study, 43 (20.7%) of the app users made meaningful relations with people they met on the app. In the study by Timmermans et al one fourth of the participants formed meaningful relations thereby suggesting that the apps are used for purposes more than just casual sex.¹² However, the major reasons for use of apps in the study were finding love/partner, casual sex and experimenting respectively. Similar studies on the reasons have come forward with the reasons for use being- experimentation, casual sex, socializing and romantic relations, thereby refuting the notion that apps are only used for casual sexual encounters.^12,22

Untoward incidents due to use of the app, along with regret was affirmed by 24 (11.5%) participants. There is a growing literature alerting about increasing amount of sexual harassment and abuse related to dating apps, especially in vulnerable groups, such as women/sexual minorities thereby indicating requirement of legal safeguards and regulations for the same.²⁸

This study has few limitations. Firstly, the research was exclusively conducted in an urban population, potentially limiting the use of findings in rural areas. Secondly, the study did not delve into determining the frequency or intensity of app usage among participants. Lastly, the research did not account for individuals aged 18-25 who were not attending college, thereby potentially excluding a portion of the young adult population from the study sample. Future studies involving major cities, towns and rural areas would provide a complete picture of the usage of apps all over the country.

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates that although the reported prevalence of dating app use among college-going youth in an Indian metropolitan city was relatively low, a substantial proportion of young adults used either dedicated dating applications or other social media platforms for dating purposes. Dating app use was significantly associated with male gender, being single, sexual orientation, and engagement in risk behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption. While many users sought romantic relationships and meaningful connections, a considerable proportion also reported offline meetings and sexual encounters, with encouraging levels of condom use during sexual activity. However, the limited availability of in-app information on sexually transmitted infections and protection from predatory profiles highlights an important gap in user safety. The occurrence of regret and untoward experiences among a subset of users further underscores the need for stronger safeguards and user education. These findings emphasize the evolving role of digital platforms in shaping interpersonal relationships among Indian youth and highlight the need for comprehensive sexual health education, digital safety awareness, and responsible app-based interventions. Further multicentric studies including urban, semi-urban, and rural populations are warranted to better understand dating app use and its social and public health implications in the Indian context.

Funding: No funding sources

Conflict of interest: None declared

Ethical approval: The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (HBTMC/IEC/09-23/O/RP/ 085/28022023/2023)

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