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How Dating Apps Impact Body Image, Mental Health & Wellbeing

By February 3, 2025Blog
dating apps affect body image, mental health & wellbeing

Are We Breaking Up With Dating Apps?

As I searched online for recent surveys about online dating to include in this article, I was surprised to see the data was scant, to say the least. A sign of the times? Maybe. Are people hankering for more offline dating or for finding love through more organic means online? Perhaps.

Online dating has, unfortunately, become somewhat synonymous with toxic dating behaviours. And whilst in recent years I’ve covered topics such as ‘ghosting’ and ‘breadcrumbing’ during online dating use, one topic that hasn’t received as much coverage on my blog are the effects that online dating use can have on daters’ mental health and wellbeing in general.

So how does online dating affect aspects of one’s self-image, mental health and wellbeing?

 

Dating Apps

In a new scientific review of dating apps specifically, as opposed to online dating sites and dating apps, researchers examined 45 studies to understand what the research can tell us about the effects of dating apps on body image, mental health and wellbeing [1].

The studies included were published between 2016 and 2023, with the majority – 39 out of 45 studies – published between 2020 and 2023.

Overall, they found that over 86.4% of the studies uncovered a significant negative impact of dating app use on body image, and 48.6% found significant negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing.

In what ways and in whom? Let’s get into some of the finer details.

 

Dating App Use & Body Image

The below findings relate to the studies that did find negative body image outcomes as a result of dating app use so that you can see the types of negative effects for your own self-awareness, should you identify any of these in yourself and want to reassess your current approach to your dating and relationship goals.

In the studies using quantitative data (measured numerically), dating app use was positively associated with:

  • body dissatisfaction,
  • disordered eating,
  • body surveillance,
  • unhealthy weight control behaviours,
  • body image disturbance,
  • muscularity dissatisfaction,
  • height dissatisfaction,
  • body image disturbance,
  • body shame,
  • and low body esteem.

Where qualitative data was used (non-numerical information gathered through things like interviews and questionnaires), the studies told a story of dating app use being positively associated with:

  • discomfort in heterosexual men when they felt they didn’t possess the ‘ideal body’,
  • weight/appearance-based stigma and discrimination for gay men,
  • social comparison and self-objectification for gay men,
  • and disordered eating in gay and bisexual men.

 

Dating App Use & Mental Health & Wellbeing

Again, to help you think about any dating pitfalls you may be falling into, or may in the future, the below refer to the negative mental health and wellbeing outcomes that dating app use was related to in the reviewed studies that uncovered such findings.

These studies found a positive association between dating app use and:

  • higher depression,
  • higher anxiety,
  • poorer self-esteem,
  • negative mood,
  • stress,
  • and lower life satisfaction.

Specific reasons for the positive association between dating app use and depression were:

  • perceived rejection on dating apps,
  • dating app facilitated sexual violence,
  • low perceived popularity on dating apps,
  • and being ghosted on dating apps.

On the other hand, the positive association between dating app use and anxiety was due to:

  • first use of online dating being before the age of 18 years for women,
  • and dating app facilitated sexual violence.

Some of the reasons for the positive association between dating app use and poorer self-esteem, were:

  • perceived rejection,
  • dating app facilitated sexual violence,
  • dating app facilitated weight-based discrimination,
  • low perceived popularity on dating apps,
  • and being ghosted.

And finally, mood was negatively correlated with:

  • being ghosted.

 

Now, About You

Okay, so now that you know some of the potential negative effects of dating app use on body image, mental health and wellbeing, use these as a great starting point for self-reflection, and then if required, planning your redirection.

It could be that you have noticed some of these effects during your dating app use, or that you begin to at some point in the future.

Like with social media use, if you notice any of the above negative effects whenever you log on, or when you’ve been on (a fair amount) for the past few days, weeks or months, it’s worth thinking about how you can adjust your dating app activity, i.e. how you use it, when you use it, and/or how often you use it. View this short video, 11 Tips For Using Social Media In A Healthier Way, as you can apply a lot of the tips to your dating app use.

And if dating apps are really getting you down, you can create a new plan of action for your dating journey, one that better suits your personality, mental health/wellbeing needs, and dating goals.

If you want to hear opinions about online dating vs. offline dating from singles in Europe, then check out the videos below, and please do enjoy my cinematic outro music on the Italian one, ha ha ha. 😉

 

dating apps, online dating, offline dating, rome, italy, europe

 

dating apps, online dating, offline dating, madrid, spain, europe

 

dating apps, online dating, offline dating, athens, greece, europe

 

Reference

Bowman, Z., Drummond, M., Church, J., Kay, J., & Petersen, J. M. (2025). Dating apps and their relationship with body image, mental health and wellbeing: A systematic review. Computers in Human Behavior, 165, 108515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108515

 

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