eHarmony Study Shows UK Singles Feel Addicted to Dating Apps
Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, February 22 2023 @ 09:29 am
Last modified on Wednesday, February 22 2023 @ 09:43 am
A new study by eHarmony found that a whopping 90 percent of singles in the U.K. believe they are addicted to dating apps, with as many as 70 percent feeling depressed or anxious after using them.
According to the researchers, almost half (48 percent) said they check their apps as the last thing before going to bed, and roughly 39 percent said they check their dating apps first thing when they wake up. Nearly a third said they check them while at work (with 31 percent of men admitting to this compared to 25 percent of women), and 12 percent admitted to checking their dating apps while on a date.
Researchers[*1] also found that 55 percent of U.K. singles believe they spend too much time on dating apps, with an average of 55 minutes per person per day. eHarmony deduced that the average person is having about 6 conversations at any given time, and 8 percent might have as many as 15 conversations at once.
The company also shared that this behavior is generating some issues that impact daters’ mental health, with 44 percent of respondents saying they don’t feel good enough for the people they like, and 39 percent feeling unwanted altogether. A third of respondents said they felt depressed because of their dating app usage and 20 percent say they feel more stressed.
eHarmony conducted the study to kick off a new campaign to promote better conversations and a healthier approach to online dating, according to the company’s report.
The company is partnering with Dr. Martin Graff, a specialist in cyber-psychology at the University of South Wales, who provided some tips in the study to improve bad dating habits, including advising singles to take things more slowly and to look more carefully at profiles before swiping. He says that many people miss potentially good matches when they are in a hurry.
He also advises not to “build” your perfect partner by filtering out qualities you don’t like, because you are also filtering out good matches when you curate too much. And one important practice he says is accepting rejection, because it will happen on dating apps; they require resilience.
An important piece of advice he also shares is to know your strengths and good qualities, and to remind yourself often of your worth. And probably most importantly – plan when you will spend time on these apps, and make sure they are not the last thing you see before sleep or the first thing when you wake up. And if you want to focus on your work, don’t check them there, either.
eHarmony surveyed over 1,000 dating app users across the U.K. for the study. For more on this dating app, please check out our eHarmony app review.