Highlights
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Dating app use has adverse implications for body image, mental health and wellbeing.
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86% of studies reported negative impacts of dating app use on body image outcomes.
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Almost half of studies reported negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing.
Online dating is becoming increasingly prevalent, with many single individuals opting to use dating applications (apps) to find a romantic partner. Recent research has shed light on the potential harmful relationships that mobile dating services can have on body image, mental health and wellbeing.
A total of 45 studies were included in this review. Studies were published between 2016 and 2023, with 48.9% (n = 22) reporting on body image outcomes, and 64.4% (n = 29) reporting on mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Over 85% (n = 19) of studies reported a significant negative impact of dating app use on body image, and 48.6% (n = 14) of studies reported significant negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing. This review indicates that dating apps have potentially harmful effects on the body image, mental health and wellbeing of their users. As such, there is considerable scope to improve the design of such apps to attenuate their harmful effects.
In contemporary western society, finding romantic partners online is becoming the norm. Online dating is a practice that has been popular since its inception in 1995, when the first internet based dating site, ‘Match.com’ was created (Orchard, 2019).
Body image
Body image refers to the perceptions or feelings that one has towards their own appearance, often revolving around body size, shape, and attractiveness. Unlike online dating websites, dating app profiles are initially restricted to profile pictures, names, and age, with written content such as a short biography accessible only after clicking into the profile (Parry et al., 2023). The limited written content found on dating app profiles implies that physical appearance is likely a key factor in initial reactions and assessments of profiles (Miller, 2020). Anticipating this appearance-based scrutiny, users are potentially at risk of self-objectification, where they tend to increase focus on their appearance and body image (Strübel & Petrie, 2017). This increased focus on appearance and body image can, in turn, lead to body dissatisfaction and appearance concerns (Bell et al., 2018). This too, may have potentially adverse implications for users’ mental health and wellbeing.
Across all included studies that examined body image (n = 22), 86.4% (n = 19) reported adverse relationships between dating app use and body image.All four qualitative studies indicated adverse body image outcomes as a result of dating app use. More specifically, Waling et al. (2023) found that body ideals are prevalent on dating apps, and there is a level of discomfort for heterosexual men when they don’t match these ideals. For gay men, weight/appearance-based stigma and discrimination was widespread on gay dating apps (Filice et al., 2019; Hammack et al., 2022; Tran et al., 2020). Key findings from Filice et al. (2019) depict a culture of social comparison and self-objectification on dating apps, and Tran et al. (2020) reported that majority of participants engaged in weight control behaviours to better align with body ideals. Two longitudinal studies examined body image and dating app use. Dating app use was significantly positively associated with disordered eating over 7- and 14-day measurement periods.
Mental health and wellbeing
Mental health is often described as an individual’s level of mental, physical, and social functioning over time (Fusar-Poli et al., 2020), where poor mental health could be defined as mental, physical, and social dysfunction. Poor mental health includes the presence of enduring conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or psychological distress (Echevarria et al., 2022). Research has highlighted a potential relationship between mobile dating and mental health dimensions, including depression, anxiety, and neuroticism (Bonilla-Zorita et al., 2021; Holtzhausen et al., 2020; Toma, 2022). Similarly, dating apps have been linked to concerns around wellbeing, including poorer levels of general wellbeing, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and increased stress (Musan, 2020; Obarska et al., 2020; Sanhaji, 2020).
Unlike traditional online dating websites, dating app users are in charge of their own matches, which potentially increases their exposure to rejection. Rejection on dating apps, including both implicit rejection (low number of matches) or explicit rejection (voiced disapproval) has been linked to lower self-esteem, mood and depression (Sparks et al., 2023).
Across all included studies that measured mental health and wellbeing (n = 29), 48.3% (n = 14) reported correlations between dating app use and adverse mental health and wellbeing outcomes. significant negative relationships were reported between dating app use and self-esteem (n = 5), mood (n = 2), and life satisfaction (n = 1). In a longitudinal study, Erevik et al. (2020) did not find a significant impact of dating app use on mental health and anxiety over a one-year period. Thomas et al. (2022) conducted an experimental study, which found that increasing the number of available partners on dating apps lowered self-esteem.
Several studies (n = 15) also reported relationships between mental health and wellbeing outcomes and factors linked with dating app use, such as ghosting or online sexual violence. Depression was significantly positively correlated with perceived rejection on dating apps (n = 2), dating app facilitated sexual violence (n = 1), low perceived popularity on dating apps (n = 1), and being ghosted on dating apps (n = 1).
The current study
Dating apps are becoming increasingly popular, with global usage increasing exponentially each year (Curry, 2024). This systematic review aimed to determine the impacts of dating apps on users’ body image, mental health and wellbeing. Overall, there is a large and rapidly growing body of research (90% of studies published from 2020 onwards) pertaining to the impacts of dating app. The findings of this review overwhelmingly suggest that dating apps have adverse implications on body image, mental health and wellbeing.
Mental health and wellbeing
The findings of this review highlight the negative impacts of dating app use on mental health and wellbeing, with almost half of studies (48.3%) reporting harmful relationships. More specifically, dating app use was linked to poorer self-esteem, and higher depression and anxiety. This too, is consistent with the literature pertaining to social media and mental health and wellbeing. Sadagheyani and Tatari (2021) conducted a review on the impact of social media use and reported significant relationships with anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and life-satisfaction.
O’Reilly et al. (2018) similarly reported the negative impacts of social media on mental wellbeing, citing it as a platform for cyber abuse and addiction, leading to mood and anxiety disorders. A common theme of social media’s impact on mental health is active use and passive use. Active use of social media (messaging, commenting, engaging with other users) can see positive effects on wellbeing, such as self-esteem, but passive use (i.e., doomscrolling, the act of scrolling through social media without engaging with other users) is a large cause of negative impacts on mental health (Sadagheyani & Tatari, 2021). Dating app users similarly participate in passive use, with a large portion of users engaging in the act of endless swiping rather than messaging others (Thomas et al., 2023). This may underpin the adverse impacts of dating app use on users’ mental health and wellbeing. It should be noted that many studies examined dating app use broadly, and thus, it was not possible to determine the features of dating apps that may impact body image, mental health and wellbeing. Future research should seek to provide insight into the features of dating apps that may be most detrimental (e.g., features that facilitate appearance related comparisons).
Conclusion
This review provides an important contribution to the existing research by examining the impacts of mobile dating apps on the body image, mental health and wellbeing of their users. The findings indicate that these apps have detrimental impacts on such outcomes. The use of mobile dating services is becoming exponentially widespread and thus, ongoing efforts to safeguard population body image, mental health and wellbeing are critical. This review has important implications for improving (or refining) the design of dating apps to attenuate their harmful effects.
