You can totally find someone – whether it be true love or a hookup – on dating apps. But they can also take a toll on your mental health. How so? Here are four ways that dating apps can mess up your mental health.
- Dating apps can cause stress and anxiety. A study from Western Sydney University found that those over the age of 18 that used dating apps had higher rates of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. Tinder was the app linked the most to stress and anxiety.
- Dating apps can lower your productivity. A study published in “Computers & Education” found that college students who were on technology frequently had worse academic performance. It wasn’t limited to dating apps, but the correlation is there.
- Dating apps are associated with body image issues. Seeing so many “ideal” partners on apps can lead people to develop increased body dissatisfaction and negative body image, the journal of Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies in Anorexia, Bulimia, and Obesity found. It was found especially for men, too.
- Dating apps are associated with lower self-esteem. A Body Image study from 2017 focused just on Tinder and found that users are less satisfied with their face and their bodies.
Source: Make Use Of