Dating app usage and motivations for dating app usage are associated with increased disordered eating

Abstract

Plain English summary Existing research evidence, although scant, has linked dating app use to body dissatisfaction (BD) and disordered eating (DE). Yet, little is known about the relationship between individuals’ dating app use motivations and relevant traits in eating pathology. To address these gaps, the current study investigated whether dating app usage moderated the effects of appearance-based rejection sensitivity (appearance-RS), fear of negative evaluation (FNE), emotion dysregulation, and perceived social rank on DE, and the unique association between individuals’ dating app use motivations and DE. Participants (N = 690) completed baseline measures of demographic and trait variables including dating app usage. We found that dating app users were more likely to engage in DE behaviours, appearance-RS, and emotion dysregulation than non-users. Furthermore, four of the six measured motivations for using dating apps were associated with DE among the dating app user sample. We conclude that lifetime dating app usage may constitute a socio-cultural appearance pressure which confers DE risk. Our results showed also novel insights into the varied motivations for dating app use and their impacts on DE. As dating app use continues to proliferate, enhancing our understanding of how, why and for whom it may be harmful remains a salient area of research.

Keywords

• Dating apps
• Disordered eating
• Emotion regulation
• Rejection sensitivity
• Social rank