CHAPTER 1 - LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

Dating App Use in Recent Years

With the growth of technology and social media, dating and relationships are also moving online. Dating websites first became popular in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with services like Match.com, eHarmony, and Plenty of Fish (Rosenfeld & Thomas, 2012). These dating services have become increasingly accessible through apps on phones or tablets. Most apps used by adults under 30 focus on users’ pictures and their proximity to dating app matches (Sumter & Vandenbosch, 2018). Some of the most popular dating apps used by undergraduate college students include Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and Grindr. As of 2019, Tinder had 7.86 million users, Bumble had 5.02 million users, Hinge had 1.21 million users, and Grindr had 1.64 million users (Verto Analytics, 2019, Figure 4). Tinder ranks at number 1 for most popular dating app, with 15% of U.S adults under 30 years old currently using Tinder (Morning Consult, 2020, Figure 3). Bumble ranks at number 2 for most popular dating app, with 13% of U.S adults under 30 years old currently using Bumble (Morning Consult, 2020, Figure 2). Today, there are frequent references to dating apps in media, television, movies, and music. Meeting partners via dating apps has become extremely normative. Since 2019, 12% of U.S. adults are currently in a committed relationship or in a marriage with a partner they met through a dating app (Anderson et.al., 2020). Match Group is a tech company that now owns over 40 dating websites and dating apps, with data and revenue showing an increased use of dating services. The last largest spike in dating app registration occurred during the COVID-19 quarantine period. From March to August 2020, there was about a 15% increase in subscribers to Match Group’s services (Meisenzahl, 2020). The global pandemic limited physical interaction, leading to an increase in dating app downloads, subscriptions, and daily messages (Kats, 2020). These increased downloads, due to COVID-19, may present larger numbers of college students using dating apps. With more college students on dating apps, a possible increase in dating app facilitated sexual violence could be seen, since the 18-24-year-old age group has the highest prevalence of general technology facilitated sexual violence (Powell & Henry, 2019).

While dating apps can be used by all people over the age of 18, adults under 30 make up 48% of users across online dating apps (Pew Research Center, 2020, Figure 5). Dating apps are also extremely popular for finding potential partners near one’s location (Albury & Byron, 2016). Hookup culture has become increasingly prevalent with the increased use of dating apps and is most common among undergraduate students (Beauchamp et al., 2017). Hookup culture can be defined as finding sexual or romantic partners, frequently and for a short period of time, with no commitment (Beauchamp et al., 2017). Sexual violence, hookup culture, and consent have been points of worry mainly for undergraduate women registered on dating apps. In a study of undergraduate women and dating app experiences, most participants stated that they signed up on dating apps for entertainment and casual dating (Beauchamp et al., 2017). In that study, the most important concern women had was user safety when meeting someone from a dating app; consequently, most women would alert friends or meet in public spaces to feel safer (Beauchamp et al., 2017). While women may have been the focus of prior research, the current study focuses on all dating app users, currently attending college, to assess the prevalence and consequences of dating app facilitated sexual violence.

People of all genders, races, and sexual orientations use dating apps. Recent studies have shown that more dating app users are men, with 32% of male adults having used or currently using dating apps compared to 23% of female adults (Morning Consult, 2020, Figure 1). However, while sexual violence is prevalent among members of all groups, certain minorities including women and members of the LGBTQ+ community are at higher risk for sexual violence in general. In a 2017 study, 83.67% of women met at least once with another dating app user in person, and women’s highest concerns were about safety and authenticity on dating apps (Beauchamp et al., 2017). A study found that females in their adolescence and young adulthood reported more than twice as much online sexual solicitation as their male counterparts. Additionally, for participants in late adolescence to early adulthood, female participants perceived more risks and less benefits to online sexual behavior than their male counterparts (Baumgartner et al., 2010). Social media use, in conjunction with dating app messaging, is a popular way for users to protect themselves. The use of dating apps continues to provide access for new relationships, so undergraduate women tend to search or message their dating app matches on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat prior to physical contact as a measure of safety (Beauchamp et al., 2017).

Sexual minorities are also disproportionately affected by dating app facilitated sexual violence. Some dating apps, such as Grindr, specifically connect partners of the LGBTQ+ community. For LGBTQ+ young adults, hookup culture is also popular, and these dating apps offer geo-locations to connect app users in the area. Study participants that use LGBTQ+ dating apps, stated that their geo-location was a risk factor for them because it made them visible in their area even if they were not “out” (Albury & Byron, 2016). Additional concerns by LGBTQ+ users were sexual predators on the apps and the sharing of pictures on the app, while essential for trust, risked their identity (Albury & Byron, 2016). Overall, dating app use is extremely common among all young adults, but they continue to bring up user safety concerns and show that women and sexual minority groups may be at a higher risk for negative sexual encounters.

Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence

Technology facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) encompasses sexual harassment, sexual abuse, gender or sexuality-based harassment, sexual solicitation, sexual coercion, and rape experienced on or via online platforms. The current research study is focused on dating app facilitated sexual violence, a subset of TFSV, yet most research has evaluated the prevalence and health effects of the broader TFSV. Research on TFSV report experiences through social media platforms, dating apps/websites, chatrooms, email, gaming platforms, and cell phones. Sexual harassment via technology can range from unwanted sexual images or messages, distribution of sexual information about someone, threats to release someone’s sexual images, insults or threats about someone’s sexuality or gender identity, and physical sexual assault facilitated by an online platform.

Nonconsensual sexting or unauthorized distribution of sexual images and videos creates humiliation and harm to the victim. Therefore, researchers raised awareness by labeling actions, such as the unauthorized sharing of a sexual image that was only sent consensually to the original recipient, as sexual harassment (Powell, 2010). As noted by a TFSV literature review, studies on the nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit images have not gone in depth about the mental health consequences or personal impacts this incident causes victims (Henry & Powell, 2018). Additionally, some laws may not provide protection to victims of harassment or violence caused by “sexting.” However, studies found that threats and blackmail regarding the distribution of sexual images is common in domestic abuse (Henry & Powell, 2015). The aftermath of nonconsensual distribution of “sexts” includes harm to a victim’s reputation, their mental health, and their emotional well-being.

In regard to measuring TFSV, Australian researchers Anastasia Powell and Nicola Henry published the Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence Victimization (TFSV-V) scale (Powell & Henry, 2019). The TFSV-V is a 21-item measure asking about specific sexual violence experiences. Some of the behaviors captured by measures of TFSV include unwanted messages, calls, pictures, or texts regarding sexual behavior, the nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit photos, sexual aggression, sexual coercion, blackmail for sexual acts, and harassment that targets a person’s sexual identity or orientation (Powell & Henry, 2019).

The possible sexual violence that is experienced offline and experienced via online platforms are not mutually exclusive. Since online platforms can facilitate an offline interaction with a perpetrator, TFSV also includes sexual offline behaviors. While an overlap between TFSV and offline sexual violence exists, there are also many behaviors specific to TFSV. According to a TFSV study, females report higher rates of sexual violence online by male perpetrators, males are more likely to report image-based and sexuality-based sexual harassment, and the 18-24-year-old age group have higher reports of TFSV than any other age group (Powell & Henry, 2019). In a separate study, 88% of females and 74.3% of males reported at least one incident of TFSV (Snaychuk & O’Neill, 2020). Researchers in Hong Kong found that dating app users could be at an increased risk for sexual coercion. Reasons for this correlation include that relationships made via dating apps may carry the expectation of sexual activity, and that dating app relationships develop quickly, leading to an increased vulnerability to sexual abuse (Choi et al., 2018). A Canadian study also found that undergraduate women, who experienced TFSV, had above average levels of PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. This sample of women also felt unsafe and uncomfortable using technology on campus after they experienced technology facilitated sexual violence (Cripps, 2019).

How Online Forums Affect Mental Health

Any online platform, messaging site, and social media network can create social distress by connecting victims to aggressors (Flynn et al., 2019). Online platforms provide anonymity and technological barriers in catching or stopping aggressors. According to an online victimization study, most participants experienced defamation, outing, impersonation, sexual harassment, and cyberstalking at some point in their life. In this study, 68.3% of participants, most of which were female, reported online sexual harassment. Serious online victimization, especially defamation, was linked to higher levels of distress, neuroticism, and stress in daily life (Staude-Muller et al., 2012).

Cyberbullying and cyberstalking have also been a point of concern for online users’ mental health. While most cyberbullying and cyberstalking in research is non-sexual, the aspects of new technology used to hurt or harass are also used in technology facilitated sexual violence. For example, the threats, harassment, and photo/video distribution perpetrated against cyberbullying and TFSV victims are available to more people, distributed faster, and have a longer permanence. One study found that online users with low self-esteem have higher rates of cyberbullying victimization (Brewer & Kerslake, 2015). Different studies on cyberbullying victimization also linked online victimization to increased loneliness, low self-esteem, anxiety, paranoia, and depression (Cowie, 2013). While more research has been conducted on cyberbullying, cyber victimization of a sexual nature also falls under TFSV and is common and detrimental.

TFSV has been shown to be associated with long term symptoms of PTSD and affect victims’ self-esteem and mental health (Snaychuk & O’Neill, 2020). While there is growing research about the mental health effects of general TFSV victimization, we have yet to understand how dating apps specifically contribute to TFSV. One study found that 20% of college males perpetrated some form of online sexual harassment or sexual solicitation (Thompson and Morrison, 2013). The expansion of online platforms means online victims are more vulnerable than ever, and research on the effects of technology facilitated sexual violence require more attention.

Technology can also be used to control romantic and sexual partners. The increased everyday use of phones, emails, and social media can provide partners a constant line for verbal and emotional abuse. In a study conducted on technology and adolescent dating, 30 out of 56 participants provided proof of their partners emotional or verbal abuse (Burke & Martsolf, 2010). Cell phone use, location tracking apps, and social media has led to a normalized and excessive monitoring of intimate partners. The constant availability to verbal abuse and monitorization by an intimate partner, through technology, can lead to increased fear and anxiety.

Mental Health and Adult Sexual Violence

Adults’ experiences of sexual violence (defined as offline sexual violence occurring after the age of 14) has lasting physical and mental health consequences. According to statistics by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), there are over 400,000 victims of sexual violence every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 19.3% of women and 1.7% of men have been raped in their lifetime (Breiding, 2014). As previously mentioned, women are disproportionately affected by technology facilitated sexual violence. Yearly, offline sexual violence statistics also run higher for women. According to RAINN, 90% of rape victims are women, 1 in 6 American women are victims to completed or attempted sexual violence, and female college students are 3 times more likely to experience sexual violence compared to women of the same age not in college. Males are also at risk for sexual violence. RAINN’s statistics show that male college students face 5 times higher likelihood of sexual violence compared to their male counterparts outside of college. The CDC estimates that 27.3% of women and 10.8% of men will experience unwanted sexual contact in their life while 32.1% of women and 13.3% of men will face non-contact unwanted sexual experiences (Breiding, 2014).

The effects of sexual violence may occur soon after and/or persist months after the traumatic incident has occurred. Psychological symptoms are highest 2-3 weeks after the trauma and can persist for about 1 month while PTSD symptoms can last up to 1 year (Jina & Thompson, 2013). According to RAINN’s website, the most common mental health concerns are PTSD symptoms as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Women have a 30-94% lifetime prevalence of PTSD due to sexual violence (Jina & Thompson, 2013). Self-blame and perceived self-control have also been studied in women who have experienced sexual violence. Women who are victims of sexual violence are found to have higher levels of behavioral self-blame, seen as a possible coping mechanism to explain their trauma (O’Neill & Kerig, 2000). Additionally, a study indicated that sexually abused women with higher levels of perceived self-control showed higher resilience to their trauma (O’Neill & Kerig, 2000). For young adults who have experienced TFSV, self-esteem and perceived self-control could be associated with depression and sexual violence victimization. Those who reported incidents of TFSV had lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms (Snaychuk & O’Neill, 2020). The mental health effects for victims who experienced sexual violence offline or online are equally as harmful and different diagnostic measures are not used.

Sexual violence is also associated with numerous mental health outcomes and health risk behaviors. For example, PTSD symptoms are most common and can lead to self-isolation, fear, recurring nightmares, and feelings of paranoia. Victims of sexual violence may also turn to drug use, alcohol use, or isolation from friends and family after their trauma. The majority of victims of violent crimes have both relationship problems and problems at work or school following the incident (Langton & Truman, 2014).

Dating App User Safety

Most free dating apps that college students use lack user background checks and lack official identification of users. Match Group’s dating platforms have had various users become victims to sexual violence and to sexual predators who registered on the apps. The company ensures that their dating apps ban and remove any registered sex offenders and sexual solicitation. However, sexual predators can still sign-up multiple times on the same app, using different photos and/or names. Recent media reports have cited that dating app victims of sexual violence, re-registered on the same or similar dating apps, and found their attackers under new names (Flynn et al., 2019). Thus, sexual predators and known attackers continue to find victims on the same platforms.

The difficulty in finding registered sex offenders or previous sexual attackers and keeping them off the apps poses a large risk to users. While users may be aware of some risks in meeting up with strangers, the risks of sexual violence on dating apps may be underestimated. Columbia Journalism Investigations (CJI) found a group of dating app users with higher rates of sexual violence than the general population. Experts noted CJI’s findings and stated that dating platforms have a moral responsibility to protect their users (Flynn et al., 2019). Ultimately, while dating apps do pose a risk for sexual violence and may connect you with predators, you may argue that they are safer than solely dating offline. Dating apps can be useful in connecting you to more people than you would meet in your everyday life and it can give you more control with what information you share and who to block that information from. Additionally, ending an uncomfortable online interaction can be easier than ending an uncomfortable in-person interaction. Dating app use will continue to be a common way of meeting new partners and has many benefits to users, but it is also extremely important for the growing population of users to be aware of the possibilities and risks for sexual violence via dating apps.

The importance of this research is to increase awareness of sexual violence occurring through dating apps and recognize that dating app facilitated sexual violence carries risks to mental health, usually only discussed in regard to offline sexual violence. Some negative sexual experiences on dating apps like receiving unwanted explicit photos or messages are highly prevalent (26%-56%), varying by gender and sexual orientation (Anderson et.al., 2020). In the Pew Research study, negative experiences ranged from physical threats to offensive verbal comments. When asked about sexually based negative interactions on dating sites, 46% of women reported negative interactions compared to 26% of men. Younger women experienced more negative interactions than older women. Additionally, 32% of heterosexual users and 57% of LGBTQ+ users reported receiving unwanted sexually explicit messages (Anderson et.al., 2020). Dating apps create an environment for non-contact sexual violence which could lead to symptoms of PTSD, depression, and/or anxiety similar to victims of offline sexual violence.

This research focuses on undergraduate college students, who are already at an increased risk of sexual violence. By determining the prevalence of dating app facilitated sexual violence, as well as the extent of its mental health consequences, users and mental health professionals can be better equipped. A study, of sexual harassment on a college campus, found 58.7% of students received unwanted pornography at least once, contributing to feelings of being in a hostile environment (Finn, 2004). Campus resources should provide more adequate support, awareness, and better information on dating app use. In a study of undergraduate women and dating app experiences, 88.69% did not think their university provided adequate professional or peer-led resources to them to discuss their negative dating app experiences (Beauchamp et al., 2017). Users can and should be aware of the true and common dangers of dating apps as well as of potential attackers on these platforms. This research can provide a starting point for better dating app development, user safety, user awareness, and appropriate mental health resources for victims. Most importantly, research on dating app facilitated sexual violence gives proper validation and understanding of the sexual violence experienced as well as the victims’ mental health standing.