Study reveals unexpected benefits of dating apps

The old-school romance of randomly running into at a local drinking hole, in the office or at school is no longer the norm. Modern dating is mostly a game of low-risk, high-reward swiping to the right, in search for love.

Tinder and Bumble apps are often blamed for the " dating catastrophe." The algorithm will occasionally produce a match, but if you ask your friends, they'll tell you more horror stories than true romances. A study shows that things aren't as bleak.

The researcher found that couples who met through dating apps were just as happy than couples who met via dating websites or offline. These couples were also different from other couples because they had a stronger desire for starting families.

The main takeaways include:

More couples are now meeting online through apps or websites
Couples that met through dating apps are just as happy in their relationship as any other couple
Women who met offline were less interested in marriage or having a family.
Apps that connect couples from different backgrounds are more likely to be successful.
Why does it matter -- Study Author Gina Potarca works as a postdoctoral researcher in the Universite de Geneve. She explains in a press release that this new insight comes at a time when a global pandemic discourages people from bumping into strangers. She says it could also be a sign of hope for the future in terms of digital courtship.

She says that it is comforting to dismiss the alarming concerns regarding long-term effects from using these dating tools.

The study has been published in the journal , PLOS One.

Here is the background -- The digital dating of today is far different from web-based platforms in the mid-90s. App-based dating platforms use game theory instead of lengthy profiles or surveys like those used by OKCupid to narrow the pool. The matchmaking process is driven by compatibility decision based on the profile picture. Swipe left to reject, swipe right to connect.

There is a lot of evidence that suggests this new dating style has resulted in a casual "hookup" culture, at the expense longer-term commitments. Potarca's study reveals that these criticisms are more a matter of hysteria than reality.

Potarca says that despite the increased media attention, there is no evidence to show whether relationships begun on swipe-based applications are different from relationships established in other contexts.

The data on the number of couples who met through dating apps is usually very small.

Many people think that Dating App are a less serious option than online dating or meeting up with friends. However, a Swiss researcher has found that this may not be true.

What’s new -- In order to better understand how these relationships work in reality, Potarca analyzed a Swiss survey from 2018 that included 3,245 respondents. These respondents had met their partners in the past 10 years. Potarca combined these data from 2008 to 2018 with dating data between 1995 and 2007 to determine how the answers to certain questions changed over time. For example: Do you plan to marry your partner in the next two-years? How satisfied are you with the relationship you have with your partner?

What They Did -- Using the data she collected, Potarca examined how couples who had met offline, online, or through dating apps, responded to questions about relationship satisfaction, their intention to live together and marry, as well as whether they intended to have children in the near future. She also examined how couples who met on these platforms may differ in terms socio-educational level, age and geographic distance.

The respondents were divided into three age groups: 18-29, 30-39, and over 40. This was done to understand the potential changes in these trends across platforms as well as generations.

What Potarca discovered -- Potarca's survey found that the majority of Swiss couples still met through their friends. However, the trend is "slowly declining," and at least one quarter of all new relationships started in the past two years began online.

Potarca discovered that couples who met through an app are more likely to be interested in living together than those who meet the traditional way, offline. Potarca found that this trend was driven at least partly by women who use dating apps. They were more likely to want to marry and start families with their partners than those who met in a traditional way.

Potarca's study found that couples who met online had the highest level of satisfaction.

This suggests that websites with their refined search options may be a more effective way to find a partner who is well-matched," she writes in her study.

It's important to understand the dynamics of these relationships, especially with the popularity of dating apps on the rise.

Dating apps are the best way to expand your dating pool, both geographically and demographically.

Couples that met on dating apps are more likely to choose partners who have different educational lev