The purpose of this thesis was to learn more about geo-social networking applications and how they are used by women to meet sexual partners. Currently, there are no known studies that have looked at heterosexually-oriented geo-social networking applications or at the way women have used these apps for heterosexual sexual encounters. This thesis attempts to begin to bridge this gap in the literature. For the first study, apps were selected based on their appearance in popular media articles about dating applications. Results generally related to online safety concerns, while occasional features were related to sexual safety concerns. Communication options were limited, and apps shared information with users about how far away they were from one another, from half a mile away to 5 miles away, depending on the app. Findings suggest that this is an area in need of more study, as how these apps are used by app users is currently unknown. The second recruited four women aged 18-24 who reported willingly having had sex with a male partner they met over an app. The study found that participants were sharing personally identifying information over apps (full names, phone numbers, etc.), and occasionally meeting partners in private residences for the first time. All participants reported using condoms the first time they had sex with a partner they met over an app. Findings suggest there is much more research required on how individuals meet partners over geo-social networking applications and how to safely navigate these apps.

Using the internet to meet dating partners is increasingly popular and may have ramifications that are not yet fully realized. Although many dating sites have been operating for years, new online dating platforms continue to draw millions of new users. By using a large sample of people who use online dating platforms (n=1,286) we identified similarities and differences in what motivates people to use geosocial apps and dating sites. Motivations previously considered in the literature were supported and brought together in a single theory driven confirmatory factor analysis for each type of dating platform. A motivation to seek amusement was a latent factor unique to geosocial app use. Implications for researchers, clinicians, and dating platform users and developers may include helping users be better matched to others who have similar motivations to improve the online dating experience.

Prior research has found a connection between dispositional factors such as rejection sensitivity and introversion and online dating behaviors including likelihood of use (Blackhart et al., 2014) and experience of use (Finkel et al., 2012; Whitty, 2008). The present study expands upon prior research to examine the relationship between these dispositional factors, and the impact of the possibility of explicit rejection on self-disclosure in participant-created dating app profiles. Adults between the ages of 18 and 60 will be introduced to an online dating app manipulated to contain either high or low potential for obvious rejection. Participants will then be asked to create a personal online profile. Participant perceptions of their own self-disclosure in the self-created profile as well as their disposition (introversion and rejection sensitivity) will be measured. It is hypothesized that rejection sensitive individuals as well as those rating lower in extraversion will report higher levels of self-disclosure in a non-explicit rejection dating app setting in comparison to an explicit rejection setting. The present research has implications for the field’s understanding of the experience of online dating app use for individuals as related to varying dispositional factors.

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Abstract Background: Social media is becoming more prominent each day. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are amongst the top six social media platforms used by Generation Z and Millennials (Dixon, 2023; Ceci, 2023). From a business perspective, it entails that these platforms, as well as social media as a whole, are essential for attracting users’ attention when promoting a product or service. These platforms have changed how people communicate, share information, and behave as consumers. Understanding the factors that affect behaviors on social media platforms is crucial given the growth of niche dating apps that target the Muslim community, such as Muzz. This study intends to examine how TikTok and Instagram advertisements affect how viewers perceive Muzz, its features, expected advantages, and the probability of individuals using the app. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media on behaviors towards dating app. This is specified towards Generation Z and Millennials. Ultimately, this study aims to find how this target audience interacts with advertisements and what factors affect their behavior. The findings from this paper can be useful to marketing departments of various companies within the dating app industry as they can begin to improve their marketing strategy to appeal to a new and larger target audience.   Method: The findings from this thesis was conducted through qualitative research including interviews of 10 participants with ages between 19-30 years old. The analysis of these findings was done through a thematic analysis approaching grouping the findings in themes and similarities. Conclusion: The findings and analysis from this report indicate that social media and advertisements presented on social media significantly influence the behaviors of Generation Z and Millennials towards dating apps, specifically Muzz app. The way in which social media has an influence is in relation to three theories/models: Advertising Effectiveness, Consumer Behavior Models and Uses and Gratification Theory. Each of the said models and theories aid in the analysis of how behaviors shift depending on social media presence.

Dating apps are in growing popularity, with 48% of dating app users in the United States being adults under 30 (Pew Research Center, 2020, Figure 5). While dating apps can provide a faster and easier way to meet or message a potential partner, they are also a relatively new platform to experience sexual violence. This thesis aims to explore the frequency of sexual violence experienced via dating apps as well as the specific effects this subtype of sexual violence has on the mental health of college students. Technology facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) includes unwanted sexual advances, sexual harassment, gender/sexuality-based abuse, sexual coercion, and rape that a person may experience due to technology that connected the victim to the perpetrator (Henry & Powell, 2018). While there is limited research on the physical and mental health effects of TFSV, past research includes all forms of technology. By focusing on dating apps, a widely used online platform, this research hopes to fill a gap in the research. The study conducted was of 230 college students at the University of Central Florida. Of all study participants, 144 reported current or past use of dating apps, and 88.8% of users reported at least one instance of sexual violence via dating apps. Overall, greater frequency of TFSV on dating apps was associated with more symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, greater loneliness, less perceived self-control, and lower self-esteem.

This study researches communication 2020-2021 via the Tinder dating app in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a framework of mediatization, uses and gratification theory and affordance theory. Data collection was performed using qualitative interviews via Zoom video calls with respondents based in Sweden and findings were analyzed using thematic analysis.  Results of the study discusses phenomena when the physical world and a mediatized one interlock: even though the Tinder app afforded people to connect during the COVID-19 pandemic, the worlds are not independent of each other. Uncertainty and stress could seep into the dating app practice and create a hindrance to easy communication, even though the Tinder app was trying to accommodate the changing times. The study explores that the dehumanizing aspect of reducing a person to a single attribute and deleting that person is connected to a heightened affordance of gamification of relationships that is connected to deep mediatization, moments of our everyday practices immersed in new kinds of mediated communication. Steered behaviour from the app occurs in the Tinder interface which this paper explores, connected to data-driven decision making, a critical tool allowing mobile app developers to not only figure out customer behaviour but also to design customised products. Connected here is the mediatized interplay between humans and technology. If the Tinder app was hard to set up or navigate, the different needs and gratifications would not be met and users would simply vanish.  This paper argues the Tinder app design encourages speed and has coded distractions to actually work against the perceived gratification of meeting a partner and ultimately rendering the service redundant. The COVID-19 pandemic, this thesis explores, has spurred different generations to adapt to new practices and technologies but that these affordances do not always correlate to new dating app practices such as video dating. A mediatized way of meeting physically has been brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional step has been added to online dating practices, the walk, which has 2 lowered the threshold of the initial date by being perceived as an easier option. A direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic connected to online dating. This paper also argues intimacy through media sharing, such as humour and jokes via technology in a mediatized world. Lastly, this paper explores the safety aspects of the Tinder app, connected to catfishing and also gender blindness.

This qualitative case study examines technology-facilitated gender-based violence in relation to network hospitality platform Couchsurfing.com. Motivated by experiences of many women, including my own, and an identified research gap in the academia on the topic, the research seeks to understand how Couchsurfing.com facilitates gender-based violence, with a specific focus on women. The present research is based on a single, explanatory case study methodology, focused on the thematic of analysis of the podcast “Verified”, concerning the case of Italian Couchsurfer and policeman Dino Maglio, who systematically drugged and sexually assaulted his Couchsurfing guests. Key findings highlight how Couchsurfing enabled and perpetuated gender-based violence, by not preventing the creation of new profiles and possible retaliation against negative references, and most importantly, by never admitting to any responsibility. While this violence was facilitated by Couchsurfing.com, other hegemonic social structures and institutions were found in the study to be further perpetuating this violence, in particular the police and the judiciary system. While acknowledging the limitation of a single case study, this master’s thesis contributes to an ever-increasing body of literature on technology-facilitated gender-based violence by shedding light on the different dynamics at play in an online-to-offline Couchsurfing exchange.

This diploma thesis focuses on the motivations of users to create an account within the location- based mobile dating applications. The work is processed by statistical analysis of already published studies dealing with the same or similar topics. The main target of this paper is to calculate the effect size of individual motives in relation to the sex of the respondents. The diploma thesis starts with description of the history of online dating, specific mobile applications included in my meta-analysis, user behavior in individual stages of using these applications (profile settings, selection of other profiles, communication and its development in time), followed by the methodological part where the meta-analysis itself is desribed, the process of its creation and its weak and strong aspects. In the following chapter the results of the meta-analysis and their interpretation are presented as well as self-reflection of this paper along the recommendations for future researches. Analysis helped to reveal the differences between the sexes and also helped to synthesize the acquired studies dealing with this topis. The most notable influence of gender can be seen in the motivation of casual sex, to a lesser extent in the motivation to seek love, friends, the use of the application because of the ease...