Why Do Dating Apps Feel Depressing? A Personal Culture Perspective to the Psychological Risks in Online Mate Selection

Mate selection via dating apps has been increasingly common. However, recent data show that negative psychological experiences are prevalent among dating app users, chief among which are depressive feelings. Prior research has attempted to address the association between dating app use and depressive feelings from media features (e.g., algorithmic design that commodifies users) and personality traits (e.g., social anxiety). However, a connection between broader socio-cultural expectations for romantic relationships – hence the motivation behind dating app use – and specific interaction patterns on dating apps is lacking. Drawing upon a personal culture framework, this review paper fills this gap by analyzing depressive feelings among dating app users through the discrepancy between the know-that (i.e., felt societal expectations for romantic success) that pressures individuals into using dating apps and a lack of know-hows (i.e., personal means to achieve romantic success through dating apps). Specifically, we focus on how people think of and interact with dating algorithms (i.e., computational procedures that mediate romantic encounters on dating apps). Insights into mitigating the phenomenon of depressing dating apps in industrial, consumerist societies and directions for future work are offered.