By Gwyneth Morales

Partners who met through dating apps are found to be more committed — in contrast to beliefs that these platforms are intended for casual encounters —  a new study has found.


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Researchers from Switzerland's University of Geneva (UNIGE) studied a sample of 3,235 adults from the 2018 family survey data who were in a relationship and had met their partner in the past 10 years.

Couples who met on dating apps were more motivated to live together than other lovers, a researcher at the Institute of Demography and Socioeconomics in UNIGE's Faculty of Social Sciences revealed in a statement.

"The study doesn't say whether their final intention was to live together for the long- or short-term, but given that there's no difference in the intention to marry, and that marriage is still a central institution in Switzerland, some of these couples likely see cohabitation as a trial period prior to marriage," Gina Potarca said.

Researchers also said women who met their partners on apps also wanted and planned to bear a child in the near future — which was was more common in app romances than in other circumstances.

"The internet is profoundly transforming the dynamics of how people meet," Potarca said.

Moreover, couples who met on apps were just the same with other couples who met on other ways in terms of satisfaction with the quality of their relationships and the quality of their lives.

Dating apps partner people with different levels of education, especially between high-educated women and lower educated men, the study also said.

Potarca said these apps may also encourage long-distance relationships as users can connect with other users more than 30 minutes away.

"Knowing that dating apps have likely become even more popular during this year's periods of lockdown and social distancing, it is reassuring to dismiss alarming concerns about the long-term effects of using these tools," she added.

The research was issued in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday.


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