Dating apps reduce chances of finding a real-life partner, warns expert

tinder and dangers of online dating
Mike Blake/Illustration/Reuters

Excessive usage of dating apps will drastically reduce the chances of finding a real-life partner, a top psychiatrist has warned.

Dr Richard Graham, clinical director of Good Thinking, a London digital mental well-being service revealed that endless swiping through endless faces on apps like Tinder and Bumble will make the user addicted to the habit and finally will end up in failing to find a potentially good match.

The research report revealed that more than one in 10 users used to infinitely swipe for over 14 hours a week. Scientists have also named this unending swiping habit, 'infinite swipe'.

"Whilst love, at first sight, can happen in a moment, this gamification of such an important life search is potentially demeaning to all. It's time we placed more importance on taking time to get to know someone, on personality and conversation, rather than basing decisions on looks alone. Would you just choose the person who can take a great selfie?" said Richard Graham, Dailymail.co.uk reports.

A survey commissioned by Alex Durrant, CEO of JigTalkon on people in the United Kingdom also revealed that compared to women, men are using dating apps more. Nearly 40 percent of the men who took part in the survey used three or more dating apps at a time. It should be also noted that one in ten men who took part in the survey admitted of using five dating apps at a time.

Even though 76 percent of users find more than 30 matches in a month, only 22 percent of this group succeeded to engage in more than 10 conversations.

"Dating apps have led to hundreds of thousands of marriages and partnerships across the world, but we must use them as messaging platforms to make conversations on, rather than just photo sharing apps. Getting to know a potential partner's personality is key to finding love. It's an innate need which goes hand in hand with visual attraction. You wouldn't meet someone in a bar and not talk to them, so it's crazy why we do this on dating apps," said Durrant.

The survey also revealed that men consider good looks to find a potential match, while women used combining factors like height, humour sense and conversational skills.

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