Tinder, the App That Is Setting the Dating Scene on Fire

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Tinder, the App That is Setting the Dating Scene on Fire:

A Uses and Gratifications Perspective

Loes Ligtenberg

University of Amsterdam

Master’s Thesis

Graduate School of Communication

Master’s Programme Communication Science – Youth and Media

Student Number: 10712798

Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Sindy Sumter

Date of Completion: January 28th, 2015

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This present study investigated the uses and gratifications of the dating app Tinder.

We aimed to examine the motivations of emerging adults behind Tinder use, and to examine individual differences concerning those motivations. One hundred forty two Tinder users, aged 18 to 30 years, completed an online survey concerning their Tinder use. Results revealed

10 Tinder motivations, namely: companionship, intimacy, boosting self-esteem, casual sex, excitement, passing time, cool and new trend, surveillance, entertainment, and relaxation. The motivations entertainment, passing time, excitement and relaxing were rated as most important, and the motivation companionship was rated as least important. Current Tinder users were more motivated by casual sex and intimacy than former Tinder users. Additionally, former Tinder users were more motivated by cool and new trend than current Tinder users.

Furthermore, male Tinder users showed a higher need for casual sex and excitement, and pornography exposure was positively related to the motivation casual sex. The findings of this study suggest that the entertainment value of Tinder is highly important for emerging adults, and that individual differences should be considered when investigating Tinder motivations. The developed Tinder Motivation Scale can be used for future research, which might incorporate additional individual differences.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Introduction

A few decades ago it was unimaginable that one could find a romantic partner by using a computer or another digital device. Back in the day someone had to look for a romantic partner in his or her own limited social network. However, during the last 20 years the dating landscape has fundamentally changed (Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis & Sprecher,

2012). This change can be explained by the rise of the internet. The internet offers users the opportunity to find a potential romantic partner online. Internet users can create their own online profiles including photographs and descriptions of themselves. Tons of dating websites provide access to millions of other love seekers, with whom users can communicate and with whom users eventually can date. According to the website Statistic Brain (2014) at least 41 million single Americans have tried online dating. Considering the Netherlands, 13% of people that started living together between 2008 and 2013 have firstly met online (Kooiman

& Latten, 2014).

A recent development in the online dating world is the dating app Tinder. This app has gained enormous popularity since its launch in September 2012, with at least 10 million active users a day. In the Netherlands around 1.2 million people have downloaded the app. Online dating is known to be most popular amongst single people over 40 years of age (Kooiman &

Latten, 2014). Surprisingly, Tinder seems to be tremendously popular amongst a group younger of age, namely emerging adults (Ayers, 2014). Tinder uses your Facebook account to create your personal Tinder profile; it uses information about your age, gender, friends and interests. In addition, it uses your Facebook profile picture as your main photo for your personal Tinder account. After setting up a profile, the user can set his or her preferences concerning what kind of people you want to meet online. The user can set gender preferences, vicinity preferences, and age preferences. Consequently, the app will find your location using your smartphones GPS-signal and will find any potential matches near you. The user can then

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE decide, based on the other’s profile picture and interests, if he or she is interested or not. This is done by swiping right (saying “like”) or left (saying “pass”), if two users like each other a

‘match’ is made and they will be able to communicate through online chatting.

Though Tinder has initially been introduced as a dating app, it has also been called the hookup- or sex-app. There are numerous websites addressing how one can ‘get laid’ in just a few steps using Tinder (Haven, 2014; Freeman, 2014; Stice, 2014). However, not everybody is on Tinder to get laid or to find a romantic partner. Research concerning motivations behind social media in general, and online dating specifically, has revealed that people have multiple reasons to engage in these activities. The use of Social Networking sites (SNS) has been associated with many different motives like passing time, escaping reality, relaxing and self- expression (Mull & Lee, 2014). In addition, the use of online dating sites has been associated with the need for companionship, emotional support, communication, intimacy and excitement (Lawson & Leck, 2006).

To find out why a particular media platform like Tinder is more appealing to emerging adults than any other online dating platform, it is important to find out what motivates users to make use of this platform. This current study has two objectives: (1) to examine the motivations of emerging adults to use Tinder, and (2) to examine individual differences concerning Tinder motivations. This current study will focus primarily on emerging adults because of the high popularity of Tinder amongst this age group. Next to this, the use of media in general is highly prominent in the lives of emerging adults; they spend more time on media than on any other activity (Coyne, Padilla-Walker & Howard, 2013).

The present study is the first study that will use the uses and gratifications theory in order to gain insights into the specific motivations behind Tinder. This theory assumes that people have specific needs that can be satisfied by media use (Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch,

1974). People are actively seeking for certain types of media that may fulfill their needs.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Applying the uses and gratifications theory to Tinder is important for today’s media research because of Tinder’s popularity and its novelty in comparison to traditional online dating platforms. In addition, gaining insights into the specific uses and gratifications can contribute to the future creation of other social media platforms.

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

Online Dating

Online dating, compared to offline dating, has several advantages. First of all, spatial proximity is irrelevant; you do not need to go out to meet potential dates. Next to this, dating sites can be accessed whenever and wherever you want (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). In addition, online communication facilitates self-disclosure and self-presentation (Lawson &

Leck, 2006). You can reveal information about yourself whenever you want, but you can also be selective in what you reveal to potential romantic partners. Given those advantages of online dating it won’t come as a surprise that 38% of single American adults have used online dating sites or dating apps (Smith & Duggan, 2013). Also, general attitudes towards online dating have changed during the years. According to a survey conducted by Smith and Duggan

(2013) 59% of all internet users agreed that online dating is a good way to meet people, in

2005 only 44% agreed with this statement. Taking into consideration the age of the respondents, Smith and Duggan (2013) reported that American adults aged 25 to 34 showed highest usage of dating apps.

The Theory of Uses and Gratifications

To gain insights into the motives behind Tinder use we will use a uses and gratifications framework. The uses and gratifications theory was first developed by Katz

(1959) in order to gain understanding about why individuals use certain types of mass media in order to fulfill specific needs and desires. The uses and gratifications theory assumes that media users take an active role to fulfill a specific goal or objective (Sundar & Limperos,

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

2013). McQuail (1983) composed the most broadly recognized classification of uses and gratifications theory for general media use. According to McQuail there are four widespread gratifications that can be obtained from using all kinds of mass media, namely: entertainment, personal identity, information, and social interaction (Mull & Lee, 2014). Next to this, we can distinguish between three kinds of gratifications namely: content gratifications, process gratifications and social gratifications. Content gratifications represent the gratifications obtained from media content, process gratifications represent the gratifications obtained from using the media, and social gratifications represent the gratifications related to the use of media as a social environment (Sundar & Limperson, 2013).

These four main gratifications suggested by McQuail (1983) can be divided into several sub-gratifications to get more nuanced and diverse gratifications. This is important because different kinds of media can have their own unique gratifications. For instance, a unique gratification for playing video games is ‘competition’ (Sundar & Limperos, 2013).

Video game players play games because they have a need for competition. This unique need may not be gratified by using other kinds of media like for example Twitter. Twitter, in turn has its own unique gratifications like ‘self-documentation’ and ‘self-expression’, these gratifications may not be satisfied by playing video games.

As Tinder is a new unique application without a fixed list of gratifications this study will focus on a combination of gratifications related to SNS. Literature concerning the uses and gratification of other SNS will be explored to discover and identify potential Tinder motivations. In addition, new unique motivations will be identified, formulated and explored.

Uses and Gratifications of SNS

Although uses and gratifications theory has initially been developed to study traditional media, the uses and gratifications framework has been successfully used to understand why people use new media like SNS (e.g. Ryan, Chester, Reece & Xenos, 2014;

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Shao, 2009; Foregger, 2008). SNS are different from other forms of media as SNS empower users to create their own content and to interact with other users (Urista, Dong & Day, 2008).

Research of Shao (2009) has revealed that people use SNS for several entertainment ends, these include: relaxation, enjoyment, passing time, escaping from problems, seeking emotional release, and excitement. In addition, a study of Urista, Dong and Day (2008) concerning SNS motivations has revealed that individuals also use SNS to feel connected with other individuals and to seek support and approval of others. Additionally, participants reported a need to foster new relationships. This need for new relationships has also been mentioned as an important motivation to use SNS by Bonds and Raacke (2008). Furthermore, participants of this study also reported to use SNS to stay in contact with old and current friends (Bonds & Raacke, 2008).

Besides uses and gratifications studies concerning SNS in general, there are also numerous uses and gratifications studies about specific social media platforms. An example is a study conducted by Dunne, Lawlor and Rowley (2010) to investigate the uses and gratifications of the SNS Bebo. This study revealed that Bebo was used for interaction with friends and with members of the opposite sex, as well as for impression management, entertainment and escapism from boredom. Another SNS study concerning Pinterest, an image-sharing SNS, showed that the main motivations for using Pinterest included fashion, creative projects, entertainment, virtual exploration and organization (Mull & Lee, 2014). In addition, research concerning motivations behind Facebook use indicates that the use of

Facebook is influenced by the need to pass time, to connect and for sexual attraction

(Foregger, 2008). Further, Ryan, Chester, Reece and Xenos (2014) compared 24 studies, published between 2008 and 2014, concerning Facebook gratifications. Results of this study showed that the most popular motives for Facebook use are relationship maintenance, passing time, entertainment and companionship.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

The results of these different SNS studies show that different SNS can serve several similar purposes. Considering these earlier SNS studies, we can assume that, in general, most

SNS are used to gratify the following needs: relaxation, entertainment, passing time, escaping from problems, seeking emotional release, excitement and the establishing and maintaining of relationships. Next to these similarities, we have also perceived that specific SNS can have their own unique purposes. For this reason, when studying a specific SNS like Tinder, it is important to consider that not all uses and gratifications revealed from earlier SNS studies are relevant. In addition, we should also be aware that new unique Tinder gratifications might have to be formulated. The gratifications that will be relevant to this Tinder study will be identified in the following paragraphs. We will rely on the four broad categories of motivations of McQuail (1983), namely: entertainment, social interaction, information and identity exploration. These broad motivations will be further elaborated into several sub- motivations. Some of these motivations will be similar to the motivations of other SNS, others will be unique to Tinder.

Uses and Gratifications of Tinder

Entertainment. Numerous uses and gratifications studies showed that entertainment is an important motivation for using SNS (e.g. Mull & Lee, 2014; Ryan, Chester, Reece &

Xenos, 2014; Dunne, Lawlor & Rowley, 2010; Foregger, 2008). Entertainment itself is a very broad category consisting of many sub-motivations. One of these sub-motivations is passing time. This need has been revealed by numerous uses and gratifications studies concerning

SNS (Shao, 2009; Mull & Lee, 2014; Foregger, 2008; Ryan, Chester, Reece & Xenos, 2014).

Tinder can be used to pass time when someone is bored or when someone wants to have a break from what he or she is doing.

Another popular sub-motivation of entertainment is excitement. People may use

Tinder for excitement purposes, especially when they are under stimulated. When people are

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE under stimulated they will use media to get a feeling of arousal, or in other words excitement

(Sherry, 2004). This excitement motivation has been shown in several SNS studies (Dunne,

Lawlor & Rowley, 2010; Shao, 2009; Foregger, 2008). Moreover, a study of Lawson and

Leck (2006) amongst internet daters has shown that people seek dates online for the thrill, and excitement was reported as a primary motivation. In case of Tinder, the uncertainty of with whom you will be matched, and the opportunity to talk with strangers who are potentially close by, may evoke a feeling of arousal and excitement.

On the other hand, people may use Tinder to relax; as a way to be relieved from stress and overstimulation. When people are overstimulated they use media to be relieved from overstimulation (Sherry, 2004). People may use Tinder as a way to unwind and to have a pleasant rest.

The last motivation that is related to entertainment and might be important for our study is the motivation cool and new trend. This motivation has been identified in an earlier study of Smock, Ellison, Lampe and Wohn (2011) concerning Facebook use. People might have started using Tinder because of the novelty and the sudden popularity of the app.

Social interaction. Social interaction with other individuals is another main motivation for social media use (e.g. Mull & Lee, 2014; Ryan, Chester, Reece & Xenos,

2014; Dunne, Lawlor & Rowley, 2010; Foregger, 2008; Shao, 2009). Social interaction reflects the need to socially connect with others. Just as the main gratification entertainment, social interaction can be split up into many sub-motivations that may be related to Tinder use, namely: companionship, intimacy, and sexual attraction. The need to establish new relationships has been linked to Facebook use but also to online dating in general (Ryan,

Chester, Reece & Xenos, 2014; Lawson & Leck, 2006). It has been shown that lonely people use online dating sites to easily meet new people online with whom they can talk and whom will listen to them (Lawson & Leck, 2006). People may use Tinder to establish new

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE relationships, or in other words; to find companionship (Mull & Lee, 2014).

Another motivation to use Tinder may be the need for intimacy and the need to find a romantic partner. Human in general, have a strong tendency to connect to others (Baumeister

& Leary, 1995) and, next to this, intimacy is one of the main developmental goals of emerging adults (Arnett, 2004).

Finally, the last social gratification related to Tinder use may be sexual attraction, which has been linked to SNS before (Shao, 2009; Foregger, 2008). For this study we will define this gratification as casual sex, since Tinder has been called the sex-app and many blogs are set up to give advice on how to get casual sex (Haven, 2014; Freeman, 2014; Stice,

2014). People may use Tinder with the intention to find someone to have casual sex with.

Information. Information seeking is another prominent motivation for media use. It is driven by individuals desire to increase self-awareness and knowledge about others and the world (Shao, 2009). People may use Tinder to increase knowledge of others by checking out other user’s profiles and pictures to gain information about those persons (e.g. age, gender and interests). This gratification has been called surveillance in earlier research of Joinson (2008) concerning Facebook. Furthermore, people may be motivated to use Tinder to gain information about their own attractiveness. Tinder allows users to gain information about their physical attractiveness based on the amount of Tinder ‘matches’ they’ve got. We will define this need as the need for self-awareness.

Identity exploration. One of the main developmental goals of emerging adults is identity exploration. Emerging adults want to gain knowledge about the self; who they are and what they want from life (Arnett, 2004). The use of media has often been linked to the identity exploration of emerging adults (Coyne, Padilla-Walker & Howard, 2013, Brown,

2006; Arnett, 2000). For example, SNS are used to post content, information and photos to express the self (Coyne, Padilla-Walker, Howard, 2013).

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Self-esteem is associated with this identity exploration of emerging adults (Offer,

1969; Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Petegem, Bevers, Reppers & Goossens, 2013). Self-esteem refers to the evaluation of one’s self-worth (Rosenberg, 1965). Research has shown that the stronger the identity of an individual is, the more aware he or she is of his or her strengths and weaknesses, and the stronger his or her self-esteem will be. A study of Valkenburg, Peter and

Schouten (2006) has shown that positive feedback on Facebook profiles leads to higher self- esteem.

People may use Tinder to gain self-esteem. When they feel bad about themselves they may use Tinder for boosting their self-esteem. This need can be satisfied by communicating with attractive others or by getting a lot of matches. The more matches the more self-esteem one might gain.

Tinder gratifications. Based on the described literature we can distinguish eleven separate Tinder gratifications. These gratifications can be classified into process and social gratifications. The process gratifications are entertainment, relaxation, passing time, excitement, and surveillance. The social gratifications are casual sex, companionship, intimacy, cool and new trend, self-awareness and boosting self-esteem.

We expect the motivations related to entertainment (namely; entertainment, relaxation, passing time, excitement, and cool and new trend) to be most important for Tinder users as entertainment is, in general, a very important motivation for media use (e.g. Mull &

Lee, 2014; Ryan, Chester, Reece & Xenos, 2014; Dunne, Lawlor & Rowley, 2010; Foregger,

2008). Thereafter, we expect the motivations casual sex and intimacy to be important motivations for Tinder use as Tinder is a dating app, and has also often been portrayed as the sex-app (Haven, 2014; Freeman, 2014; Stice, 2014).

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Individual Differences in Uses and Gratifications of Tinder: Gender, Pornography

Exposure and Tinder Use.

As described above, there are many different possible motivations for Tinder use. Not all Tinder users are motivated by the same needs, in other words; there may be individual differences in Tinder motivations. A model concerning these individual differences is the

Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model, introduced by Valkenburg & Peter (2013).

This model explains why it is important to consider individual differences when studying media effects. One of the mentioned reasons is that individuals may differ on dispositional, developmental, and social variables, which in turn have an effect on media use and motivations. These differences may have an effect on the selection and responsiveness to media, or in other words; media use and its motivations depend on dispositional, developmental and social variables.

In this study we will focus on three of those individual differences, namely: gender, pornography exposure, and Tinder use. Based on earlier research we expect to find a few differences, which will be discussed in the following sections. We expect gender differences to be most pronounced for the motivations casual sex and boosting self-esteem. Next to this, we expect emerging adults, who frequently visit pornography websites, to show higher motivations for excitement and casual sex than emerging adults that rarely or never visit pornography websites. Finally, we expect former Tinder users to show a higher motivation for the motivation cool and new trend than current Tinder users.

Gender, casual sex, and boosting self-esteem. Having casual sex is not unusual amongst emerging adults. More than 75 percent of American college students have experienced casual sex (Hatfield, Luckhurst & Rapson, 2011). However, research has shown that men, in general, are more permissive to casual sex (Petterson & Hyde, 2010) and that men are more likely to accept sexual offers (Tappé, Bensman, Hayashi & Hatfield, 2013).

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Also, evolutionary theory states that men have evolved to desire many casual sex partners to increase their genetic success (Buss, 1995). In case of Tinder gratifications, male users may show a higher motivation for casual sex than female users.

Second, we expect to find a gender difference in the motivation boosting self-esteem.

It has been shown that females have lower self-esteem than males (Pliner, Chaiken & Flett,

1990). Research has shown that positive feedback can lead to higher self-esteem (Valkenburg,

Peter & Schouten, 2006). Having a lot of matches can be seen as positive feedback (it shows that a lot of other users judged you as interesting/attractive), just as positive conversations with attractive others. Female Tinder users may show a higher motivation for boosting their self-esteem by using Tinder.

Exposure to pornography, excitement, and casual sex. Pornography websites are quite popular amongst emerging adults. Nearly 9 out of 10 male emerging adults, and nearly one third of female emerging adults use pornography at least once a year (Caroll et al., 2008).

Pornographic media, including pornography websites, depict erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement. A study of Ross, Mannson and Daneback (2012) concerning sexual internet use has shown that one of the main reasons for emerging adults to look at online pornography is sexual excitement. Furthermore, frequent pornography users showed higher sexual excitement than less heavy pornography users (Kraus & Rosenberg, 2014). The more frequent someone watched porn, the more sexually excited he or she would be when thinking about, and watching, porn in general. This excitement, and possible need for excitement, might transfer to other media. Due to this, we expect that emerging adults, who frequently visit pornography websites, will show a higher motivation for excitement when using Tinder.

Finally, we expect emerging adults that frequently visit pornography websites, to show a higher motivation for casual sex. Gagnon and Simon’s (2005) ‘sexual scripts’ theory argues that sex is socially constructed. This theory states that those who are exposed to pornography,

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE incorporate the actions they view into their own sexual scripts through social learning. In line with this hypothesis, the frequency of viewing pornography was associated with casual sex; the more frequently someone watched pornography the more frequent he or she engaged in casual sex (Braithwaite, Coulson, Keddington and Fincham, 2013). Furthermore, more frequent pornography viewing was associated with plans to have higher numbers of sexual partners in the future. Tinder offers people the possibility to seek out potential hook-up dates.

Therefore, we expect frequent pornography viewers to show higher motivation to obtain casual sex through the use of Tinder.

Differences between current and former Tinder users. A third and final individual difference that will be investigated is the difference between current and former Tinder users.

Tinder was first launched in 2012 and Tinder motivations might have changed over time. This may be because Tinder has developed the reputation of being a hook-up app, but this may also be because specific gratifications sought weren’t obtained. Palmgreen, Wennes and Rayburn

(1980) have made a distinction between gratifications sought and gratifications obtained.

Gratifications sought are expectations one has about what he or she will get from using a particular medium, gratifications obtained are the actual responses obtained from using a particular medium (Palmgreen, Wennes & Rayburn, 1980). Former Tinder users might have stopped using Tinder because gratifications sought weren’t obtained. On the other hand, current users might still use Tinder because the gratifications they sought through using

Tinder we not obtained by the use of Tinder.

All things considered, we expect to find some differences between current and former

Tinder users. However, since this current study is the first Tinder study using a uses and gratifications approach, we do not have information about ‘why’ Tinder was used in the past.

Due to this we cannot formulate clear expectations about specific motivations.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Current Study

The main aim of this study is to examine the motivations behind Tinder use and to gain insights into the relative importance of these different motivations. Based on the described literature we expect emerging adults to use Tinder to obtain the following process gratifications: entertainment, relaxation, passing time, excitement and surveillance. In addition, we expect emerging adults to use Tinder to obtain the following social gratifications: casual sex, companionship, intimacy, cool and new trend, self-awareness and boosting self- esteem. Furthermore, differences in motivations between current and former Tinder users will be explored.

Finally, we will investigate the main effect of gender and pornography, for three specific motivations as these are most related to gender and pornography exposure, namely: casual sex, boosting self-esteem, and excitement. We expect two differences between male and female Tinder users. The first difference is a difference in the motivation casual sex. Male users will show a higher motivation to engage in casual sex by using Tinder. The second difference is a difference in the motivation boosting self-esteem. Female users will show a higher motivation to booster self-esteem by using Tinder.

Furthermore, we expect two differences in motivations between emerging adults that often visit pornography websites and emerging adults that less often visit pornography websites. We expect emerging adults that frequently visit pornography websites to show a higher motivation for excitement, and a higher motivation for casual sex.

Method

Participants

Participants were recruited online. A link was published through Facebook and

Twitter. We chose to publish the survey link on Facebook as Tinder users need a Facebook account to sign up for Tinder. Furthermore we used Twitter to increase the number of

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE respondents, as it is a popular Social Network Site (Davenport, Bergman, Bergman &

Fearrington, 2014).

A total of 212 emerging adults completed the survey, with ages ranging from 18 to 30 years old. Of the initial sample 67% had used Tinder at least once (n = 142). On average,

Tinder users were 23.80 years old (SD= 2.51), and most were still attending university

(62.7%). Slightly more male (n = 74) than female (n = 68) Tinder users participated in the study. The sample included 34.5% current Tinder users, and 65.5% former Tinder users.

Procedure and Design

In order to gain insights into the uses and gratifications of Tinder a 61-items survey was designed using the online Qualtrics Survey Software. The decision to use this research design was made because of several reasons. First, earlier uses and gratifications research demonstrated that self-reports, like questionnaires, are useful in order to gain insights into people’s media use and communication motives (Rubin, 2002; Shao, 2009; Foregger, 2008).

Second, survey research allows collecting a broad range of data from a large number of respondents, as the survey can be distributed easily online, through several different channels.

Thirdly, another advantage of conducting online surveys is that the specific target group can be reached easily since emerging adults spend a lot of time online (Coyne, Padilla-Walker &

Howard, 2013).

Respondents could access the questionnaire through an online link. First they were asked to approve with participating in the study, next they had to confirm that they were between 18 and 30 years old. Subsequently, they were asked to answer questions about their

Tinder use, concerning; frequency of use, number of matches, motivations, number of dates through Tinder, and number of one-night stands through Tinder. Next to this, they were asked to report on how often they visit pornography websites. Further operationalization of the variables is explained below.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Measures

Demographics. The first part of the survey consisted of questions regarding the demographics of the participants. Information about age, gender (women = 0, men = 1) and education was requested.

Tinder use. Tinder use was measured was by asking the participants if they were current or former Tinder users. Tinder use was coded as: ‘current user’ = 1 and ‘former user’

= 2.

Tinder hook-ups. Participants were asked to report on how many Tinder dates they have been, and how many Tinder one-night stands they have had.

Tinder motivations. To measure the motivations behind Tinder use, items were selected from earlier uses and gratifications studies, concerning SNS. Items of these uses and gratifications studies were copied and transformed to fit Tinder. Next to this, several new motivations were constructed, unique to Tinder. All items were pretested by one Tinder user and one former Tinder user to check the clearness of the questions and statements.

Subsequently, the wording of the questions and items was refined to increase clarity.

In total 46 statements were included in the Tinder Motivation Scale (see Appendix A) which reflected 11 motivations, namely (1) Entertainment, (2) Relaxation, (3) Passing time,

(4) Excitement, (5) Surveillance, (6) Casual sex, (7) Companionship, (8) Intimacy, (9) Cool and new trend, (10) Self-awareness and (11) Boosting self-esteem. Participants rated each statement on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Details for each subscale are provided below.

Passing time. All participants rated four items regarding the motivation passing time on a 5-point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following: “I use

Tinder when I have nothing better to do”.

Excitement. All participants rated four items regarding the motivation excitement on a

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

5-point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following statement: “I use

Tinder because I consider talking to a stranger as exciting”.

Relaxing. All participants rated two items regarding the motivation relaxing on a 5- point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following statement: “I use

Tinder because it’s a pleasant rest” .

Entertainment. All participants rated four items regarding the motivation entertainment on a 5-point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following: “I use Tinder because it’s an amusing activity”.

Companionship. All participants rated 10 items regarding the motivation companionship on a 5-point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following statement: “I use Tinder because I am looking for someone to spend time with”.

Intimacy. All participants rated three items regarding the motivation intimacy on a 5- point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following statement: “I use

Tinder because it helps me to find a romantic partner”.

Casual sex. All participants rated six items regarding the motivation casual sex a 5- point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following: “I use Tinder because I am looking for someone to have sex with”.

Surveillance. All participants rated four items regarding the motivation surveillance on a 5-point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following statement: “I use Tinder to gain information about other users”.

Cool and new trend. All participants rated three items regarding the motivation cool and new trend. An example of on those statements is the following statement: “I use Tinder because it’s cool”.

Self-awareness. The motivation self-awareness was measured by the following item on a 5-point Likert scale: “I use Tinder to find out how other people see me”.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Boosting self-esteem. The motivation boosting self-esteem was measured by five items on a 5-point Likert scale. An example of one of those statements is the following: “I use

Tinder to feel better about myself”.

Pornography exposure. Participants were requested to provide information about how often they visited pornography websites. They were requested to rate one item on a 5 point scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (daily), namely: “How often have you visited a pornography websites?”. High scores reflected frequent pornography website visits and low scores reflected infrequent pornography website visits.

Analysis Plan

Before conducting an exploratory factor analysis several steps were taken. First,

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin’s measure of sampling adequacy index and Bartlett’s test of sphericity were investigated. Next, a principal components factor analysis with VARIMAX rotation was performed on all items to identify the underlying factor structure. Items that showed high consistency were combined to form separate variables. Also Cronbach’s alpha was measured to ensure the validity of the different factors.

Furthermore, paired-samples t-tests were performed to gain insights into the relative importance of the different motivations. In addition, A Multivariate Analysis of Variance

(MANOVA) was performed to find out if there were any differences in current and former

Tinder users in Tinder motivations. Finally, several multiple regression analyses were run to test individual differences in the motivations casual sex, excitement and boosting self-esteem.

Results

Exploratory Factor Analysis of Tinder Motivations

In total 46 items were used to measure the different motivations to use Tinder. A principal factor analysis with VARIMAX rotation was conducted to examine the factor structure and reduce the number of items when possible. After which the remaining items

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE were combined to form the separate variables that measure the Tinder motivations. To make sure that an explanatory factor analysis was appropriate for the collected data, the Kaiser-

Meyer-Olkin measure and the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity were examined (Field, 2005).

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. The Kaiser-Meyer-

Olkin measure is used to measure the sampling adequacy. In general, this measure should be above 0.5 in order to proceed with the factor analysis (Field, 2005). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin of the Tinder data (0.82) was acceptable. Also Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was examined.

This test is used to test if the different factors have equal variances. Applying the Bartlett’s

Test of Sphericity to our data tells us that the different Tinder factors are not normally distributed (p < .001), in other words; the strength of the relationship among the variables is strong. Because of the correlation amongst the variables an explanatory factor analysis is appropriate.

Exploratory factor analysis. The principal components exploratory factor analysis was run and the scree plot shows that 11 factors had eigenvalues equal or greater than

Kaiser’s criterion of 1 (See Appendix B, and Table 1). These 11 factors explained 71.62% of the cumulative variance. Notably, Factor 1 explained the greatest amount of variance with

26.32% variance explained.

According to Stevens’ (1992) table of critical values, against which loadings can be compared, variables with loadings higher than 0.4 can be seen as significant (Field, 2005).

Due to this, items with loadings lower than 0.4 were left out of the composition of the separate variables. Items that loaded high on a specific element and had relatively low secondary loadings on all other items were taken together to form separate factors (Table 1).

A total of 10 factors were defined, namely: Companionship, Intimacy, Boosting self-esteem,

Casual sex, Excitement, Passing time, Cool and new trend, Surveillance, Entertainment, and

Relaxation. The 11th factor was ignored as this factor did not represent a clear motivation.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table 1

Exploratory Factor Analysis of Tinder Motivations

Factor and associated items Item M ean Factor All items start with: “I use Tinder…” (SD) loading Companionship Because I am more open online than offline. 1.73 (0.97) 0.81 Because I am less shy online then I am offline. 1.67 (0.96) 0.80 Because I feel like I can easier communicate online 1.66 (0.94) 0.79 than offline. Because my online contacts understand me better than 1.35 (0.75) 0.66 my offline contacts Because I need someone to talk with 1.61 (0.93) 0.61 Because I am looking for friendship 1.64 (0.93) 0.65 Intimacy Because it helps me to find a romantic partner. 2.34 (1.24) 0.70 Because it helps me to find a romantic relationship. 2.11 (1.16) 0.84 As a way to find a permanent partner. 1.84 (1.21) 0.86 Because I am looking for someone to be with 2.08 (1.17) 0.66 Because it’s an easy way to meet someone 2.61 (1.39) 0.56 Boosting Self-esteem To gain more self-confidence 2.07 (1.07) 0.79 To feel better about myself 2.24 (1.20) 0.74 To feel attractive 2.61 (1.17) 0.69 So people can give me compliments 2.17 (1.17) 0.60 To gain knowledge about what other people think of 3.15 (1.13) 0.51 me. To cheer myself up 2.78 (1.16) 0.44 Casual Sex To talk about sex with someone. 1.77 (1.03) 0.87 Because I am looking for someone to have sex with. 2.01 (1.25) 0.76 Because I want to have a one-night stand. 2.01 (1.29) 0.76 To exchange sexy pictures with others 1.64 (0.93) 0.68 Because I am looking for an exciting love affair 2.14 (1.22) 0.57 Excitement Because it’s exciting 3.07 (1.18) 0.75 For the kick 2.80 (1.16) 0.66 For the thrill 2.43 (1.22) 0.60 To flirt 3.14 (1.19) 0.59 Because it’s exciting to talk to a complete stranger 2.52 (1.20) 0.57 Passing time To pass the time 3.68 (1.16) 0.76 When I have nothing better to do 3.60 (1.15) 0.72 Because it’s a habit 2.50 (1.19) 0.53 Cool and new trend Because it’s new 3.23 (1.22) 0.75 Because it’s cool to use Tinder 2.10 (1.18) 0.50 To find out who else is using Tinder 2.89 (1.26) 0.51

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table 1 (continued) Factor and associated items Item Mean Factor All items begin with: “I use Tinder…” (SD) loading Surveillance To check out other users profiles 3.41 (1.05) 0.88

To check other users pictures 3.54 (1.07) 0.86 Entertainment Because I enjoy looking around on Tinder. 4.21 (0.67) 0.72 Because it’s enjoying 4.32 (0.73) 0.70 Relaxing To relax 3.28 (1.13) 0.82 To have a pleasant rest 3.35 (1.13) 0.54 Note: Secondary loadings on each item were below 0.4 or unrelated to the specific factor

Reliability of motivation factors. The Cronbach’s alpha for eight of the factors exceeded the 0.7 cutoff level (Field, 2005), the Cronbach’s alphas of those eight factors were equal or greater than 0.83. The Cronbach’s alpha of two factors did not exceed the 0.7 cutoff level, namely the factors: Passing time, and Cool and new trend. To ensure good internal consistency of the items of the subscale Passing time one item was deleted, namely “I use

Tinder because it’s a habit”. This resulted into a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.77. The Cronbach’s alpha of the factor Cool and new trend was 0.67. However, because the Cronbach’s alpha is reasonably near the cutoff level, and the deleting of an item would not result into a higher

Cronbach’s alpha, we did not adjust this subscale.

Table 2

Means and Standard Deviations of Tinder Motivations

Motivation Mean Standard Deviation Reliability Entertainment 4.27 0.63 .77 Passing time 3.64 1.04 .77 Surveillance 3.47 0.99 .85 Excitement 3.49 1.14 .83 Relaxing 3.31 0.95 .87 Cool and new trend 2.74 0.85 .67 Boosting self-esteem 2.51 0.85 .74 Intimacy 2.19 1.00 .88 Casual Sex 1.91 0.95 .88 Companionship 1.60 0.74 .89 Note: Tinder motivations sorted by size, starting with motivations with highest mean scores.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Comparison of Tinder Motivations

Inspection of the scores on the different motivations indicated a possible difference between the scores on the different motivations (Table 2). Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to find out which motivations were significantly different from each other. To reduce the chances of obtaining false-positive results (type I errors) a Bonferonni correction was made, which resulted in a significance level of .006. These paired-samples t-tests indicated that the motivation Entertainment (M = 4.27, SD = 0.63) was the most important motivation to use Tinder as it differed significantly from all other scores on the motivations

(ps< .006, see also Appendix C).

The motivations Passing time (M = 3.64, SD = 1.04), Excitement (M = 3.49, SD =

1.14) and Surveillance (M = 3.47, SD = 0.99) were equally important for the respondents (ps

> .006, see also appendix C). Furthermore, the paired-samples t-test indicated that the scores on the motivation Passing time differed from the scores on all other motivations (ps < .006, also see Appendix C). Additionally, the motivations Excitement and Surveillance also differed from the scores on all other motivations (ps < .006, see also Appendix C), except for the motivation Relaxing (M = 3.31, SD = 0.95). The motivation Relaxing was equally important as the motivations Excitement and Surveillance (ps > .006, see also Appendix C), but less important than the motivation Passing time (ps < .006, see also Appendix C), and more important than the motivations Cool and new trend, Boosting self-esteem, Intimacy, Casual sex, and Companionship (ps < .006, see also Appendix C).

Furthermore, the motivations Boosting self-esteem (M = 2.51, SD = 0.85) and Cool and new trend (M = 2.74, SD = 0.85) were equally important for the respondents (ps > .006, see also appendix C), but more important than the motivations Intimacy (M = 2.19, SD =

1.00), Casual sex (M = 1.91, SD = 0.95) and Companionship (M = 1.60, SD = 0.74) (ps <

.006, see also Appendix C). The last mentioned motivations all differed significantly from

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE each other and from all other investigated Tinder motivations (ps < .006, also see appendix

C).

Finally, when keeping in mind the 5-point Likert scale that was used (ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree), we can assume that the respondents rated the motivation entertainment as important to very important. The motivations passing time, excitement, surveillance and relaxing were rated from medium important to important. And the motivations cool and new trend and boosting self-esteem were rated as medium important.

The motivations intimacy and casual sex were rated as unimportant. And lastly, the motivation companionship appeared to be the least important for the respondents.

Differences between Former and Current Tinder Users

A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to gain insights into differences in Tinder motivations between current and former Tinder users. The MANOVA included Tinder use as independent variable, and the Tinder motivations as dependent variables. Tinder use was coded as: ‘current user’ = 1 and ‘former user’ = 2. As expected, a main effect was observed for Tinder use, Wilks’ Lambda = 0.70, F (10, 119) = 5.62, p < .001.

Given the significance of the overall test, the univariate main effects were examined to find out how the motivations differ for current and former Tinder users. The results of these

ANOVA tests show that Tinder use has a statistically significant effect on the motivations

Casual sex (F (1, 139) = 11.40, p = .001), Intimacy (F (1, 139) = 8.79, p = .004), and Cool and new trend (F (1, 139) = 24.10, p < .001).

Current Tinder users (M = 2.28, SD = 1.03) scored significantly higher on the motivation Casual sex than former Tinder users (M = 1.73, SD = 0.85). In addition, current

Tinder users (M = 2.53, SD = 1.02) scored significantly higher on the motivation Intimacy than female Tinder users (M = 2.02, SD = 0.95). And moreover, current Tinder users (M =

2.29, SD = 0.76) scored significantly lower on the motivation Cool and new trend than former

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Tinder users (M = 2.98, SD = 0.81). Furthermore, no significant differences between current and former Tinder users were found (see Table 3)

Table 3

MANOVA: Differences in Motivations between Current and Former Tinder Users Motivation Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F p Companionship 0.08 1 0.08 0.15 .702 Intimacy 8.34 1 8.34 8.79 .004 Boosting self-esteem 0.23 1 0.23 0.32 .573 Casual sex 9.65 1 9.65 11.40 .001 Excitement 1.96 1 1.96 1.52 .220 Passing time 1.49 1 1.49 1.38 .243 Cool and new trend 15.23 1 15.23 24.10 .001 Surveillance 2.11 1 2.11 2.18 .142 Entertainment 0.26 1 0.26 0.64 .425 Relaxing 0.45 1 0.45 0.49 .485

Individual Differences in Tinder Motivations: Gender and Pornography Exposure

Several multiple regression analyses were run to test individual differences in the motivations casual sex, excitement and boosting self-esteem.

Casual sex. The multiple regression with Casual sex as dependent variable, and

Gender and Pornography exposure as independent variables, was significant, F (2, 136) =

24.80, p < .001. The regression model can therefore be used to predict the motivation Casual sex. The two independent variables explained 26.7% of variance (R2 = .27). A main effect was found for Gender (β = .67, p < .001). Male Tinder users (M = 2.43, SD = 0.15) scored significantly higher on the motivation Casual sex than female Tinder users (M = 1.55, SD =

0.16). In addition, Pornography exposure also predicted Casual sex (β = -.15, p = .03). The more frequently someone watched porn the higher he or she scored on the motivation Casual sex.

Excitement. The multiple regression with Excitement as dependent variable and

Gender and Pornography exposure, as independent variables was significant, F (2, 136) =

6.62, p = .002. The two independent variables explained 8.9% of variance (R2 = .09). A main

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE effect was found for Gender (β = .61, p = .015), but not for Pornography exposure (β = -.04, p

= .672). Male Tinder users (M = 3.92, SD = 0.21) scored significantly higher on the motivation Excitement than female Tinder users (M = 3.12, SD = 0.22).

Boosting self-esteem. Finally, a multiple regression analysis was run to test whether

Gender and Pornography exposure predicted the motivation Boosting self-esteem. The regression was not significant, F (2, 135) = 1.14, p = .322. Gender and Pornography exposure did not predict Boosting self-esteem.

` Discussion

The aim of this Tinder study was twofold. First, we aimed to explore the different motivations of emerging adults to use Tinder by employing a uses and gratifications framework, and to develop a new scale that can be used in future studies. Second, we aimed to examine individual differences concerning those Tinder motivations. These topics will be discussed in the following sections. Furthermore, we will discuss the limitations and implications of this study and we will make suggestions for further research. Finally, we will end with a conclusion.

Tinder Motivations

Exploring the different motivations related to Tinder is important since it is unclear what motivates emerging adults to use this extremely popular dating app. In this study a total of 10 different Tinder motivations were defined and explored, namely: ‘companionship’,

‘intimacy’, ‘boosting self-esteem’, ‘casual sex’, ‘excitement’, ‘passing time’, ‘cool and new trend’, ‘surveillance’, ‘entertainment’, and ‘relaxation’. Of these motivations, respondents rated the motivation ‘entertainment’, and related motivations like ‘passing time’,

‘excitement’, and ‘relaxing’ as most important and ‘companionship’ as least important. This is in line with previous uses and gratifications studies concerning SNS, which all found that

‘entertainment’ was a highly salient motivation for media use (Mull & Lee, 2014; Ryan,

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Chester, Reece & Xenos, 2014; Dunne, Lawlor & Rowley, 2010; Foregger, 2008).

However, ‘cool and new trend’, which also belongs to the category entertainment, was rated as less important than the other entertainment motivations. A possible explanation for this finding might be that Tinder isn’t highly novel anymore, given that it was firstly released in 2012. If this study was conducted right after the application was first launched the motivation ‘cool and new trend’ could have been more salient. This is also supported by our findings which showed that former Tinder users rated the motivation ‘cool and new trend’ as more important than current Tinder users.

In line with earlier research (e.g. Ryan, Chester, Reece & Xenos, 2014; Joinson, 2008;

Smock, Ellison, Lampe & Wohn, 2006) ‘surveillance’ was an important motivation to use

Tinder. The motivation ‘surveillance’ refers to checking out other user’s profiles and pictures to gain information about those persons. This tells us that emerging adults are motivated to use Tinder because it allows them to look at other people’s profiles and pictures. This is hardly surprising as the checking of profiles and pictures of other users is one of the main functions of Tinder. Surveillance is a motivation which might be related to the need for social comparison, as Tinder allows its users to easily compare themselves with others. This need for social comparison is especially relevant for emerging adults who are still exploring their identity which is done through comparing themselves with others (Vogel, Rose, Roberts &

Eckles, 2014; Arnett, 2004).

Interestingly, ‘casual sex’ and ‘intimacy’ were, on the whole, not rated as very important motivations for Tinder use. This is remarkable because of several reasons. First,

Tinder has the reputation of, and has often been portrayed as, the app that allows you to easily hook up with someone (e.g. Haven, 2014; Freeman, 2014; Stice, 2014). Second, almost half of respondents reported to have been on a Tinder date and around 17% reported that they engaged in casual sex on a Tinder date. So, even though Tinder users reported not to use

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Tinder to satisfy their need for ‘intimacy’ and ‘casual sex’, Tinder does seem to lead to dates and casual sex. Due to this, future research should focus on the difference between gratifications sought and gratifications obtained to find out why the motivations ‘casual sex’ and ‘intimacy’ were rated as unimportant, whilst, eventually, many Tinder users did have a date through Tinder, and some engaged in casual sex.

Furthermore, ‘companionship’ was rated as an unimportant motivation; emerging adults do not use Tinder to find companionship. This finding is in contrast with earlier SNS studies concerning other social media like Facebook (e.g. Ryan, Chester, Reece & Xenos,

2014; Smock, Ellison, Lampe & Wohn, 2011). A possible explanation might be that SNS, like

Facebook, differ from Tinder in some way, as users of Facebook and similar SNS are communicating with friends and acquaintances, and users of Tinder are communicating with complete strangers (Smock, Ellison, Lampe & Wohn, 2011). Because of this difference

Tinder users might not be motivated to find companionship amongst these strangers.

Individual Differences

The Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (Valkenburg & Peter, 2011) explains why it is important to consider individual differences when studying media effects.

According to this model individuals may differ on dispositional, developmental and social variables, which in turn have an effect on media use and motivations. In this study three individual differences in Tinder motivations were investigated, namely: differences between former and current Tinder users, gender differences and differences in degree of pornography website exposure

Current and former Tinder users. Differences between current and former Tinder users were investigated. Former Tinder users rated the motivation ‘cool and new trend’ as more important than current Tinder users. This is not very surprising as Tinder was more novel in the past than it is now. Furthermore, we also found a difference between current and

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE former Tinder users in the motivation ‘casual sex’ and ‘intimacy’. Current Tinder users are more motivated by ‘casual sex’ and ‘intimacy’ than former Tinder users. A possible explanation is that in the past Tinder was less perceived as a hook-up app as it is now.

Gender. Gender differences were also investigated. As expected, male Tinder users showed a higher motivation for ‘casual sex’ than female Tinder users. This finding tells us that for male Tinder users, Tinder is more likely to function as a hook-up app than for female

Tinder users. This finding corresponds with research of Petterson and Hyde (2010) who argue that men are, in general, more permissive to casual sex. Next to this, men are more likely to accept sexual offers than women ( Tappé, Bensman, Hayashi & Hatfield, 2013) . Future research should focus on other predictors for this motivation like ‘sexual permissiveness’ and

‘sensation-seeking’. It has been shown that sexually-permissive people and high sensational- seekers more frequently look for casual sex online than sexually-restrictive people and low sensation-seekers (Valkenburg &Peter, 2007).

In addition, men also showed a higher motivation for ‘excitement’. It appears that men seem to use Tinder more motivated by excitement than women. This finding, that males are more motivated by excitement, is in line with earlier research. Several studies have shown that men are more open to thrill and adventure than women (e.g. Soudeh & Gholamali, 2012;

Butkovic & Bratko, 2003). Future studies should look at other predictors for this motivation, like for example ‘personality’. Personality traits like ‘openness to experience’ and

‘extraversion’ are related to sensation seeking, which in turn is related to excitement (Aluja,

Garcia & Garcia, 2003).

Furthermore, we expected female Tinder users to show a higher motivation for

‘boosting self-esteem’ as research has shown that females have lower self-esteem than males

(Pliner, Chaiken & Flett, 1990). However, in contrast to our expectations, female Tinder users didn’t show a higher motivation for ‘boosting self-esteem’ than male Tinder users.

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Apparently, Tinder doesn’t fulfill this need for boosting self-esteem as it wasn’t rated as an important motivation overall. A possible explanation for this might be that emerging adults use other kinds of media, like Facebook, to fulfill this need. Research of Toma and Hancock

(2012) showed that emerging adults turn to Facebook to increase perceptions of self-worth and self-integrity. Another explanation might be that the number of Tinder matches plays a moderating role in the fulfillment of the need for boosting self-esteem. Future research should focus on this moderating role of number of matches.

Pornography exposure. Regarding pornography exposure, we expected emerging adults that frequently visit pornography websites to show a higher motivation for ‘casual sex’ and ‘excitement’, as pornography is associated with excitement and sexual behavior (Carroll,

Padilla-Walker, Nelson, Olson, McNamara Barry, Madsen, 2008). As expected, ‘pornography exposure’ was positively related to the motivation ‘casual sex’. The more frequent someone visits pornography websites, the higher he or she rated the motivation ‘casual sex’. This finding is in line with Gagnon and Simon’s (2005) ‘sexual scripts’ theory, which argues that emerging adults that are exposed to pornography, incorporate the actions they see into their own sexual scripts. Furthermore, higher frequency of watching pornography is associated with plans to have higher numbers of sexual partners in the future (Braithwaite, Coulson,

Keddington & Fincham, 2013). However, unexpectedly, visiting pornography websites was not related to the motivation ‘excitement’. In the current study we only took into account the frequency of visiting pornography websites. Future research could include a broader measure of pornography exposure.

Limitations and Implications

Efforts were made to diminish limitations for this Tinder study. However, there are a few worth reviewing. One of the limitations is that we cannot be sure that we have identified all possible Tinder motivations. We did not conduct any qualitative research to find out what

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE specific Tinder motivations exist. Instead, we have used earlier studies concerning SNS to determine the different motivations as accurately as possible. However, due to this method, there is a possibility that we have left out certain motivations. A follow-up study might consist of a survey with open-ended questions to collect qualitative data about possible motivations, which is in line with the approach by Mull and Lee (2014) concerning Pinterest.

A second limitation is our relatively small sample size. Much has been written concerning the needed sample size for factor analysis. Sample size is important as correlation coefficients fluctuate much more in small samples than in large (Field, 2005). For this current study we used data of 142 respondents. This is a relatively small sample taking into account that a total of 46 variables were used in the factor analysis. The common rule is that a researcher needs around 10-15 respondents per variable (Field, 2005). However, Kass and

Tinsley (1979) recommend having between 5-10 respondents per variable. In the future a

Confirmatory Factor Analysis should be done to test the relationship between the different

Tinder motivations and their underlying structure.

In addition, future research could also focus on ‘why’ people quit using Tinder. This is important to know, because this knowledge can be used in the creation of future (dating) apps.

A possible reason for quitting Tinder is that the gratifications sought aren’t obtained through

Tinder use. For example; someone is aiming to booster self-esteem, this person will be motivated to use Tinder for boosting self-esteem. However, there is a possibility that this motivation isn’t gratified which may result in quitting Tinder. Gaining insight into ‘why’ people stop using certain apps gives possibilities for improving those apps.

In spite of the limitations, the present study already provides some implications for companies that wish to create app’s targeting emerging adults. We now know ‘why’ people use Tinder and this information can be used in the future creation of (dating) apps. Results of this study reveal that the entertainment value of an app is highly important, as this was the

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE most important motivation of emerging adults to engage in Tinder use. Furthermore, emerging adults show a reasonably need for ‘excitement’, ‘passing time’, ‘relaxation’ and

‘surveillance’. App creators could use this knowledge by adding features to apps that serve to gratify these needs.

In conclusion, this was the first study of Tinder using a uses and gratifications framework. As such it has contributed to the body of literature of the uses and gratifications of

SNS, and specifically of Tinder. Next to this, it provides an empirically developed measurement tool, which can be used in future uses and gratifications research concerning

Tinder. Future research that aims to understand why people use Tinder might incorporate additional individual differences, for example ‘extraversion’, ‘openness to experience’,

‘sexual permissiveness’, and ‘sensation-seeking’.

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Appendix A

Table A1

Statements Used in the Questionnaire to Measure Tinder Motivations

Motivation Statement

Passing time I use Tinder to pass the time, especially when I am bored I use Tinder because it’s a habit I use Tinder because I enjoy looking around on Tinder I use Tinder when I have nothing better to do

Excitement I use Tinder because it’s exciting I use Tinder for the thrill I use Tinder because it gives me a kick I use Tinder because it’s exciting to talk to a complete stranger

Relaxing I use Tinder to have a pleasant rest I use Tinder to relax

Entertainment I use Tinder because it’s an amusing activity I use Tinder to cheer myself up I use Tinder because it’s funny I use Tinder because it’s enjoying

Companionship I use Tinder because it’s an easy way to meet someone I use Tinder because I am looking for friendship I use Tinder because I am looking for someone to be with I use Tinder because I am more open online than I am offline I use Tinder because I feel like I can easier communicate online than offline I use Tinder because I am less shy online than I am offline

I use Tinder when i have nobody else to talk with I use Tinder because my online contact understand me better than my offline contacts I use Tinder because I need someone to talk with I use Tinder to feel less alone

Intimacy I use Tinder because it helps me to find a romantic relationship I use Tinder because it helps me to find a romantic partner I use Tinder as a way to find a permanent partner

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table A1 (continued)

Motivation Statement

Casual-sex I use Tinder to talk about sex with someone I use Tinder because i am looking for an exciting love affair I use Tinder to exchange sexy pictures with others I use Tinder to flirt I use Tinder because I want to have a one-night stand. I use Tinder because I am looking for someone to have sex with.

Surveillance I use Tinder to gain information about other users. I use Tinder to check other people’s picture I use Tinder to check other people’s profiles I use Tinder to find out who else is using Tinder

Self-awareness I use Tinder to gain knowledge about what other people think of me.

Boosting self-esteem I use Tinder to gain more self-confidence I use Tinder to feel better about myself I use Tinder to feel attractive I use Tinder so people can five me compliments about my appearance. When I have a ‘match’ on Tinder, I feel good

Cool and new trend I use Tinder because everybody is using Tinder I use Tinder because it’s new I use Tinder because it’s cool

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Appendix B

Figure B1. Scree plot of eigenvalues of factors

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Appendix C

Table C1

Paired-samples t-tests of Tinder motivations

Paired Differences 95% confidence interval of the SE difference Sig (2- Pair Mean SD mean Lower Upper t df tailed) Entertainment - Companionship 2.66 1.14 .10 2.47 2.85 27.70 141 .000 Entertainment - Intimacy 2.07 1.31 .11 1.86 2.29 18.85 141 .000 Entertainment - Boosting self- 1.75 1.12 .09 1.56 1.94 18.58 140 .000 esteem Entertainment - Casual Sex 2.35 1.25 .11 2.15 2.56 18.58 141 .000 Entertainment - Excitement 0.77 1.29 .11 0.56 0.99 7.18 141 .000 Entertainment - Passing time 0.63 1,16 .10 0.44 0.82 6.48 141 .000 Entertainment - Cool and new 1.53 1.11 .09 1.34 1.71 16.42 141 .000 trend Entertainment - Surveillance 0.80 1.05 .09 0.62 0.97 9.03 141 .000 Entertainment – Relaxing 0.95 1.04 .09 0.78 1.13 10.92 141 .000 Passing time - Companionship 2.03 1.27 .11 1.81 2.24 19.11 141 .000 Passing time – Intimacy 1.44 1.40 .12 1.21 1.68 12.28 141 .000 Passing time -

Boosting self- 1.12 1.11 .10 0.94 1.31 11.96 140 .000 esteem Passing time - Casual.Sex 1.72 1.28 .11 1.51 1.94 16.10 141 .000 Passing time – Excitement 0.15 1.41 .12 -0.09 0.38 1.25 141 .214 Passing time -

Cool and new 0.90 1.21 .10 0.70 1.10 8.84 141 .000 trend Passing time - Surveillance 0.17 1.24 .10 -0.04 0.37076 1.59 141 .113

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table C1 (continued)

Paired Differences 95% confidence

interval of the SE difference Sig (2- Pair Mean SD mean Lower Upper t df tailed) Entertainment - Companionship 2.66 1.14 .10 2.47 2.85 27.70 141 .000 Surveillance – Intimacy 1.29 1.33 .11 1.06 1.50 11.44 141 .000 Surveillance - Boosting self- esteem 0.96 1.33 .11 0.74 1.18 8.62 140 .000 Surveillance - Casual sex 1.56 1.31 .11 1.34 1.78 14.15 141 .000 Surveillance - Passing time -0.17 1.24 .10 -0.37 0.04 -1.59 141 .113 Surveillance - Excitement -.02 1.47 .12 -0.26 0.23 -0.14 141 .887 Surveillance - Cool and new trend 0.73 1.22 .10 0.53 0.93 7.16 141 .000 Surveillance - Entertainment -0.80 1.05 .09 -0.97 -0.62 -9.03 141 .000 Surveillance - Relaxing 0.16 1.22 .10 -0.04 0.36 1.55 141 .123 Excitement - Companionship 1.88 1.13 .09 1.69 2.07 19.91 141 .000 Excitement - Intimacy 1.30 1.06 .09 1.12 1.47 14.57 141 .000 Excitement - Boosting self- esteem 0.99 1.03 .09 0.82 1.16 11.39 140 .000 Excitement - Casual.Sex 1.58 0.92 .08 1.42 1.73 20.37 141 .000 Excitement - Passing time -0.15 1.41 .12 -0.38 0.09 -1.25 141 .214 Excitement - Cool and new trend 0.75 1.26 .11 0.54 0.96 7.10 141 .000 Excitement - Surveillance 0.02 1.47 .12 -0.23 0.26 0.14 141 .887

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table C1 (continued)

Paired Differences 95% confidence

interval of the SE difference Sig (2- Pair Mean SD mean Lower Upper t df tailed) Excitement - Entertainment -0.78 1.29 .11 -0.99 -0.56 -7.18 141 .000 Excitement - Relaxing 0.17 1.21 .10 -0.03 0.38 1.73 141 .086 Relaxing - Companionship 1.70 1.09 .09 1.52 1.89 18.58 141 .000 Relaxing - Intimacy 1.12 1.27 .11 0.91 1.33 10.55 141 .000 Relaxing - Boosting self- esteem 0.80 1.07 .09 0.62 0.98 8.88 140 .000 Relaxing - Casual.Sex 1.40 1.18 .10 1.20 1.60 14.17 141 .000 Relaxing - Passing time -0.32 1.17 .10 -0.52 -0.13 -3.30 141 .001 Relaxing - Excitement -0.18 1.21 .10 -0.38 0.03 -1.73 141 .086 Relaxing - Cool and new trend 0.57 1.10 .09 0.39 0.76 6.23 141 .000 Relaxing - Surveillance -0.16 1.22 .10 -0.36 0.04 -1.55 141 .123 Relaxing - Entertainment -0.95 1.04 .09 -1.13 -0.78 -10.92 141 .000 Cool and new trend - Companionship 1.13 0.98 .08 0.97 1.29 13.70 141 .000 Cool and new trend - 0.55 1.26 .11 0.34 0.76 5.17 141 .000 Intimacy Cool and new trend - Boosting self esteem 0.23 1.01 .09 0.06 0.40 2.68 140 .008 Cool and new trend - Casual sex 0.83 1.23 .10 0.62 1.03 8.01 141 .000

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table C1 (continued)

Paired Differences 95% confidence

interval of the SE difference Sig (2- Pair Mean SD mean Lower Upper t df tailed) Cool and new trend - Passing time -0.90 1.21 .10 -1.10 -0.70 -8.83 141 .000 Cool and new trend - Excitement -0.75 1.26 .11 -0.96 -0.55 -7.10 141 .000 Cool and new trend - Surveillance -0.73 1.22 .10 -0.93 -0.53 -7.16 141 .000 Cool and new trend - Entertainment -1.53 1.11 .09 -1.71 -1.34 -16.42 141 .000 Cool and new trend - -0.57 1.10 .09 -0.76 -0.39 -6.23 141 .000 Relaxing Boosting self- esteem - Companionship 0.90 0.77 .06 0.77 1.03 13.88 140 .000 Boosting self- esteem - Intimacy 0.31 0.99 .08 0.15 0.48 3.76 140 .000 Boosting self- esteem - Casual sex 0.59 0.96 .08 0.43 0.75 7.33 140 .000 Boosting self- esteem - Excitement -0.99 1.03 .09 -1.16 -0.82 -11.39 140 .008 Boosting self- esteem - passing time -1.12 1.11 .09 -1.31 -0.94 -11,96 140 .000 Boosting self- esteem - Cool and new trend -0.23 1.01 .09 -0.40 -0.06 -2.68 140 .000 Boosting self- esteem - Surveillance -0.96 1.32 .11 -1.18 -0.74 -8.62 140 .000

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table C1 (continued)

Paired Differences 95% confidence

interval of the SE difference Sig (2- Pair Mean SD mean Lower Upper t df tailed) Boosting self- esteem - Entertainment -1.75 1.12 .09 -1.94 -1.56 -18.58 140 .000 Boosting self- esteem - Relaxing -0.80 1.07 .09 -0.98 -0.62 -8.88 140 .000 Intimacy - Companionship 0.58 0.89 .07 0.44 0.73 7.82 141 .000 Intimacy - Boosting self- esteem -0.31 0.99 .08 -0.48 -0.15 -3.76 140 .000 Intimacy - Casual sex 0.28 0.93 .08 0.13 0.43 3.60 141 .000 Intimacy - Excitement -1.30 1.06 .09 -1.47 -1.12 -14.57 141 .000 Intimacy - Passing time -1.44 1.40 .12 -1.68 -1.21 -12.28 141 .000 Intimacy - Cool and new trend -0.55 1.26 .11 -0.76 -0.34 -5.17 141 .000 Intimacy - Surveillance -1.28 1.33 .11 -1.50 -1.06 -11.44 141 .000 Intimacy - Entertainment -2.07 1.31 .11 -2.29 -1.86 -18.85 141 .000 Intimacy - Relaxing -1.12 1.27 .11 -1.33 -0.91 -10.55 141 .000 Casual sex - Companionship 0.30 0.90 .08 0.15 0.45 4.00 141 .000 Casual sex - Intimacy -0.28 0.93 .08 -0.43 -0.13 -3.61 141 .000 Casual sex - Boosting self- esteem -0.59 0.96 .08 -0.75 -0.43 -7.33 140 .000 Casual sex - Excitement -1.58 0.92 .08 -1.73 -1.42 -20.37 141 .000

TINDER: A USES AND GRATIFICATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Table C1 (continued)

Paired Differences 95% confidence

interval of the SE difference Sig (2- Pair Mean SD mean Lower Upper t df tailed) Casual sex - Passing time -1.72 1.28 .11 -1.94 -1.51 -16.10 141 .000 Casual sex - Cool and new trend -0.83 1.23 .10 -1.03 -0.62 -8.01 141 .000 Casual sex - Surveillance -1.56 1.31 .11 -1.78 -1.34 -14.15 141 .000 Casual sex - Entertainment -2.35 1.25 .10 -2.56 -2.15 -22.54 141 .000 Casual sex - Relaxing -1.40 1.18 .10 -1.60 -1.21 -14.17 141 .000