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Abstract

50 million users worldwide use Tinder, and with its core demographic being individuals between the ages of 18-25, the need to explore this age range is of importance. With the vague guidelines of Tinder, the motivations of its users become blurred. Therefore, with the growing use of dating applications (apps) such as Tinder, and its popularity amongst younger individuals, this study provided clarification to the most popular demographic of Tinder users, by examining the commonalities behind their motivations of the using the app, shared ideas of romantic love (RL), and the commonalities between their descriptions and ideas of romance. Whilst previous research explores the motivations of Tinder users, it lacks the attention of younger individuals, whilst also establishing Tinder solely as a hookup app. Consequently, for this research, 71 participants were collected, based on voluntarily completing an online questionnaire via a link from the researcher’s own social media accounts, generating both quantitative and qualitative data. Thematically analysing the responses of participants produced themes based on each research question. Participants showed common motivations for using Tinder, as well as common descriptions of RL. Most significantly, participants expressed more emphasis on validation, loneliness, and entertainment, rather than the stigmatised use for hookups and casual sex, which previous literature has explored. The concept of ‘warmth’ being part of romantic love was established as a prominent theme within responses, highlighting intimacy, whilst providing a different rhetoric to love. These findings are beneficial and provide insight into Tinder users between the ages of 18-25, helping to understand deeper reasonings behind their motivations for using the app, due to its ambiguous and unclear guidelines.

Course: Sociology and Criminology - BSc (Hons) - C0979

Date Deposited: 2022-06-06

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13913.html