Dating Apps Do Lead to Long-Term Relationships

Since the dawn of Tinder, moral panic surrounding dating apps has warned that the evils of swipe-based online dating are fueling a hedonistic “hookup culture” that will destroy love, romance and the sacred family unit as we know it. According to a recent study (and common sense) however, these fears are wildly unfounded. In fact, partners who meet on dating apps might actually more interested in settling down into a traditional relationship complete with all the trappings of monogamous domesticity than those who meet by more “organic” means.

“We actually find that in certain ways couples that met through dating apps have even stronger long-term family formation or relationship intentions than other couples that met either offline or through other digital ways of meeting,” Dr. Gina Potarca, author of the research from the University of Geneva, told the Guardian.

The research analyzed responses from 3,245 partnered individuals over 18 whose relationship was no more than 10 years old. The majority of those participants met their partner offline, leaving 104 who met their partner through dating apps, 264 through dating websites and 125 who reportedly found their partner “by means of other online services.”

Ultimately, the research found little difference in relationship or life satisfaction between those who met their partners on apps and those who went the more traditional route. Moreover, the research found that couples who met via apps may be more ready to settle down than those whose relationship started offline. According to the Guardian, the research suggests couples who met through an app were more likely to be planning to move in together, and women who met their partner on an app were more likely to want a child within the next three years.

These results suggest that, despite a lingering stigma linking dating apps exclusively to hookups, many turn to dating apps seeking long-term relationships, and plenty find them there. As Potarca put it, “These moral panics don’t usually reflect the actual trends that are happening.”