To Tinder or not to Tinder, that's the question: An individual differences perspective to Tinder use and motives

Elisabeth Timmermans*, E.A.L. De Caluwe

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

88 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Tinder is quickly becoming one of the most popular mobile dating applications for meeting people within the vicinity. From a personality theory perspective, it is important to find out what motivates people to use Tinder and what makes them different from those who never used the application. The present study investigated how the Five-Factor Model of personality relates to both Tinder use and motives. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on 502 single emerging adults. Single Tinder users are more extraverted and open to new experiences than single non-users, whereas single non-users tend to be more conscientious than single Tinder users. Additionally, the findings provide several unique insights into how individual differences in singles can account for Tinder motives by supporting nearly all hypotheses. This study thus adds to a growing body of literature that examines traditional personality theories in the context of computer-mediated online environments. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)74-79
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume110
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • Tinder
  • Personality
  • Motives
  • Big five
  • PERSONALITY
  • INTERNET
  • EXTROVERSION
  • NEUROTICISM
  • RISK

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