Dating Apps Are Used for More Than Dating

Abstract

Use and design of dating apps has evolved in recent years to accommodate other interaction goals beyond dating, prompting some researchers to now refer to these apps as people-nearby applications (PNAs). With this expansion of use comes increased potential for misinterpretation of users' goals for meeting face-to-face, which can pose risks to user safety particularly when disparities in sexual expectations occur. We present a survey study (n=132) with users of several PNAs and with various motivations for PNA-use to understand how interaction goals are disclosed and detected. The study finds such practices to be far from consistent, with some appearing highly susceptible to misinterpretation such as purposely delaying self-presentation of interaction goals until meeting face-to-face, and implying sexual expectations through vague references to "fun." We conclude by suggesting a modified version of the "swiping" feature in PNAs to facilitate consistent and overt self-presentation of interaction goals in ways that accommodate user tendencies discovered in the study.