RESEARCH ARTICLE
Do young da ing app use s and non-use s
di e in ma ing o ien a ions?
Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada
1☯
, A
´ngel Cas oID
1☯
*, Elena Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o
2☯
, Ped o J. Ramos-
Villag asa
2☯
1Facul y o Social and Human Sciences, Depa men o Psychology and Sociology, Uni e si y o Za agoza,
Te uel, Spain, 2Facul y o Labou and Social Sciences, Depa men o Psychology and Sociology, Uni e si y
o Za agoza, Za agoza, Spain
☯These au ho s con ibu ed equally o his wo k.
*cas oa@uniza .es
Abs ac
In ecen yea s, da ing apps ha e changed he way people mee and communica e wi h
po en ial oman ic and/o sexual pa ne s. The e exis s a s e eo ype conside ing ha hese
apps a e used only o casual sex, so hose apps would no be an adequa e esou ce o ind
a long- e m ela ionship. The objec i e o his s udy was o analyze possible indi idual di e -
ences in he ma ing o ien a ions (sho - e m s. long- e m) be ween use s and non-use s o
da ing apps. Pa icipan s we e 902 single s uden s om a mid-size Spanish uni e si y, o
bo h sexes (63% emale, and 37% male), aged be ween 18 and 26 yea s (M= 20.34, SD =
2.05), who comple ed a ba e y o online ques ionnai es. I was ound ha , whe eas da ing
apps use s had a highe sho - e m ma ing o ien a ion han non-use s (mo e equen
beha io , highe desi e, and mo e posi i e a i ude), he e we e no di e ences in he long-
e m o ien a ion as a unc ion o use/non-use. Conside ing his, da ing apps a e a esou ce
wi h a s ong p esence o people in e es ed on hooking-up while, simul aneously, no a bad
(no good) op ion o inding long- e m lo e.
In oduc ion
In ecen yea s, da ing apps ha e become a e y popula ool o ini ia e con ac wi h po en ial
oman ic and/o sexual pa ne s [1]. Geoloca ion applica ions (e.g., Tinde , G ind ) ha e
made i especially easy o communica e and mee o he use s who a e geog aphically close [2].
I is es ima ed ha mo e han one hund ed million people a ound he wo ld egula ly use
hese apps, which has made online da ing one o he main ways o ind a pa ne oday, espe-
cially among young people [3].
I is widely belie ed ha da ing apps a e used exclusi ely o casual sex [4]. Howe e ,
esea ch on his subjec sugges s o he wise. In he las yea s, a conside able amoun o esea ch
[2–9] is de eloped, showing ha people use hese apps o a wide a ie y o easons, and ha
seeking sex is no he main one a all. The easons gi en abo e o sex a y in di e en s udies,
including ela ional (e.g., iendship, lo e), en e ainmen (e.g., cu iosi y, bo edom), and in a-
pe sonal issues (e.g., sel - alida ion, ease o communica ion).
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OPEN ACCESS
Ci a ion: Ba ada JR, Cas o A
´, Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o
E, Ramos-Villag asa PJ (2021) Do young da ing
app use s and non-use s di e in ma ing
o ien a ions? PLoS ONE 16(2): e0246350. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1371/jou nal.pone.0246350
Edi o : Pe e Ka l Jonason, Uni e is y o Pado a,
ITALY
Recei ed: Sep embe 22, 2020
Accep ed: Janua y 15, 2021
Published: Feb ua y 2, 2021
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all o he con en o pee e iew and au ho
esponses alongside inal, published a icles. The
edi o ial his o y o his a icle is a ailable he e:
h ps://doi.o g/10.1371/jou nal.pone.0246350
Copy igh : ©2021 Ba ada e al. This is an open
access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he
C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which
pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and
ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal
au ho and sou ce a e c edi ed.
Da a A ailabili y S a emen : The open da abase
and code iles o hese analyses a e a ailable a
he Open Science F amewo k eposi o y (h ps://
os .io/phy4n/).
The mo i a ions o using da ing apps a e de e mined by he use s’ indi idual cha ac e is-
ics [1]. Sociodemog aphic a iables (i.e., sex, age, and sexual o ien a ion) a e hose wi h a
highe ela ionship wi h he use o apps [9,10]. Speci ically, pas li e a u e highligh ed ha men
[6,10], and membe s o sexual mino i ies [6,10,11], p esen highe p e alence a es o he use
o da ing apps. Based on age, he mos s udied g oup and in which highe a es o app use is
olde you h, who end o show a wide a ie y o mo i es o use i , seeking bo h en e ainmen
and casual sex o oman ic pa ne [2,4,10].
Wi h espec o ela ionship s a us, while some au ho s ha e ound ha a la ge p opo ion
o people in a ela ionship a e da ing apps use s [4,12,13], o he s udies ha e ound ha being
in a ela ionship shows a nega i e and la ge associa ion wi h cu en (las h ee mon hs) use,
bu no associa ed wi h p e ious use [10]. Those disc epancies can be pa ially explained by
he ime ame conside ed o ma k pa icipan s as da ing apps use s. Fo ins ance, Le eb e [4]
explici ly indica ed ha wi h he da a collec ion p o ocol cu en ela ionship s a us o he pa -
icipan s may o may no e lec hei s a us when using Tinde . O osz e al. [13] conside ed as
use s hose who had used Tinde a leas once in hei li e ime, so, again, cu en ela ionship
s a us was no he same as s a us when using da ing apps.
Pe sonali y ai s is also ela ed wi h he use o da ing apps, bu i s ele ance is lowe [10]. A
a iable ha seems wi h an impo an ela ionship wi h da ing apps is sociosexuali y, unde -
s ood as an indi idual´s disposi ion o engage in sexual ela ions wi hou closeness o commi -
men [14–18]. Some s udies, like hose o Bo nen e al. [8] and G øn ed e al. [19] ha e ound
ha people wi h un es ic ed sociosexuali y (i.e., sho -ma ing o ien a ion) epo o use hese
apps mo e.
Con inuing wi h he in luence o indi idual di e ences, he li e a u e has paid pa icula
a en ion o ma ing p e e ences and o ien a ions. Ma ing is a li elong p ocess [20,21] wi h
g ea implica ions o u u e li e [22,23]. T adi ionally, i s ele ance has been emphasized du -
ing eme ging adul hood, when decisions a e o en made abou ela ionships and o sp ing,
e en s ha ha e a conside able impac on peoples´ li es [20,21]. Ma ing o ien a ion, he indi-
iduals’ s a ed in e es in commi ed ela ionships and/o in b ie o uncommi ed sexual ela-
ionships [24], has usually been measu ed h ough a single dimension wi h wo opposi e poles:
sho - e m e sus long- e m [21]. Sho -ma ing o ien a ion is cha ac e ized by he sea ch o
casual sexual pa ne s and ela ionships o low emo ional commi men [21,24,25], and adi-
ionally has been iden i ied wi h un es ic ed sociosexuali y. Long- e m ma ing o ien a ion, on
he o he hand, is cha ac e ized by he desi e o oman ic ela ionships o commi men , wi h
a s ong emo ional in es men in he ela ionship and, gene ally, wi h sexual exclusi i y [26].
This adi ional iew o ma ing o ien a ion has been c i icized by some au ho s, such as
Jackson and Ki kpa ick [24], who claimed ha sho - e m and long- e m o ien a ion a e no
wo opposing poles in a single dimension, bu wo dimensions ha , while nega i ely ela ed,
can be and should be di e en ia ed. Thus, o example, i is possible o desi e o be in ol ed
in o a s able ela ionship and main ain mul iple sexual ela ionships wi hou commi men
[27,28]. I is also possible o ha e no in e es in any kind o ela ionship.
The concep ion o sociosexuali y has also be e ined. Di e en esea che s ha e shown he
app op ia eness o abandoning he classic unidimensional s ance o sho - e m o ien a ions
[18] and paying a en ion o a mul idimensional pe spec i e [15]. This mo e ine-g ained
app oach includes sociosexual beha io (i.e., pas sociosexual beha io ), a i udes (i.e., posi i e
app aisal abou casual sex), and desi e (i.e., sexual a ousal wi h people wi h whom no commi -
ed oman ic ela ionship exis s).
Howe e , i is s ill common ha esea che s con inue o s udy ma ing s a egies like oppos-
ing poles and sociosexuali y om a unidimensional app oach when hey analyze demog aphic
and psychological co ela es. The e is s ill some heo e ical con usion in he use o some e ms.
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Funding: This wo k was suppo ed by he Minis y
o Science, Inno a ion and Uni e si ies,
Go e nmen o Spain, unde g an PGC2018-
097086-A-I00; and by he Go e nmen o A agon
(G oup S31_20D). Depa men o Inno a ion,
Resea ch and Uni e si y and FEDER 2014-2020,
"Building Eu ope om A ago
´n". The unde s had no
ole in s udy design, da a collec ion and analysis,
decision o publish, o p epa a ion o he
manusc ip .
Compe ing in e es s: The au ho s decla ed ha no
compe ing in e es s exis .
Fo ins ance, Penke [29] de ined es ic ed sociosexuali y as he " endency o ha e sex exclu-
si ely in emo ionally close and commi ed ela ionships" and un es ic ed sociosexuali y as
he " endency o sexual ela ionships wi h low commi men and in es men " (p. 622). This
concep ualiza ion assumes ha (a) es ic ed and un es ic ed sociosexuali y de ine a single
dimension and (b) ha es ic ed is equi alen o long- e m ma ing o ien a ion and un e-
s ic ed o sho - e m o ien a ion. While we ag ee wi h he i s assump ion, we ha e jus i ied
ha sho - and long- e m ma ing o ien a ion a e no he wo ex emes o a single dimension.
While un es ic ed sociosexuali y can be unde s ood as in e changeable wi h sho - e m o ien-
a ion, es ic ed sociosexuali y is no long- e m, bu lack o sho - e m o ien a ion.
Ma ing o ien a ions can also di e based on di e en sociodemog aphic cha ac e is ics.
P e ious li e a u e has a gued ha men show a g ea e sho - e m o ien a ion, while women
p e e long- e m ela ionships [20,21,26], bo h o e olu iona y easons and o he s ill p e-
ailing sexual double s anda d. The e olu iona y easons e e o sexual di e ences: men wan
o ha e sex wi h as many women as possible, while women a e selec i e, looking o he mos
sui able candida e o p oc ea e [30]. Rega ding he sexual double s anda d, i e e s o he di -
e en assessmen o a sexual beha io depending on whe he i is pe o med by a man o a
woman (e.g., hook-up) [31]. I has also been ound ha people go changing p og essi ely hei
p e e ences when hey g ow up, in ol ing in long- e m ela ionships [22]. Rega ding sexual
o ien a ion, indi iduals who a e pa o sexual mino i ies, especially men, a e much mo e
likely o ha e sho - e m ela ionships han he e osexual people [32], pe haps because hey a e
looking o a pa ne o di e en easons o he p oc ea ion [33].
Fo all he abo e easons, i seems ha young people: (1) use da ing apps o a a ie y and
complexi y o mo i es ha go beyond he me e pu sui o casual sex; and (2) do no me ely ol-
low an exclusi e sho - o long- e m o ien a ion, bu ins ead, bo h models can coexis . This
s udy aims o de e mine possible di e ences in he ma ing o ien a ion be ween young use s
and non-use s o da ing apps. Tha is, i i is accep ed ha i is ela i ely common o seek sex
wi hou commi men h ough da ing apps, is his medium a good o bad op ion o ind long-
e m oman ic ela ionships? A condi ion o being an e ec i e op ion would be ha da ing
apps use s a e long- e m o ien ed o , a leas , as long- e m o ien ed as he non-use s. Up o
now, he e is limi ed and indi ec in o ma ion ega ding his.
Recen ly, i has been ound ha Tinde use s ha e a highe likelihood o o ming oman ic
ela ionship longi udinally, bu ha his inc eased likelihood can be explained by Tinde use s’
pe sonali y and subs ance use cha ac e is ics [34]. Tha p e ious da ing apps use is no ela ed
o cu en ly being single [10] can be in e p e ed as indica i e ha use s a e no ela ionship-
a oidan people. The associa ions be ween apps use and ma ing o ien a ions will be assessed
con olling he e ec o sociodemog aphic cha ac e is ics (gende , age, sexual o ien a ion)
and assessing sho - e m ma ing o ien a ion (sociosexuali y) om a idimensional app oach
(beha io , a i udes, desi e).
Ma e ials and me hods
Pa icipan s and p ocedu e
This s udy was pa o a la ge p ojec ca ied ou in a Spanish uni e si y ha aimed o explo e
se e al aspec s o he sexuali y o young s uden s. The ini ial sample comp ised 1,996 pa ici-
pan s. Fi e inclusion c i e ia we e used: (a) s udying a uni e si y deg ee (76 pa icipan s
excluded); (b) aged be ween 18 o 26 yea s (128 pa icipan s excluded); (c) labeling hemsel es
as woman o man (13 pa icipan s excluded); (d) co ec ly answe ing a con ol ques ion (41
pa icipan s excluded; see below); and (e) being single a he ime o he s udy (803 pa icipan s
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excluded). The ou i s c i e ia we e he same as hose used in p e ious esea ch wi h equi a-
len samples [10,14,35].
We disca ded he pa icipan s in ol ed in a ela ionship o wo easons. Fi s , because
among people in a ela ionship, hose who had used apps in he las h ee mon hs we e a e y
small mino i y (n= 33, 4.1%), so i s limi ed sample size p e en ed any u he analysis. Second,
because we unde s ood ha , among da ing apps use s, he p o iles and mo i es o using da ing
apps o hose who we e o we e no in a ela ionship had o be e y di e en [36,37].
A e applying hese c i e ia, he inal sample comp ised 902 single uni e si y s uden s
(63% women, 37% men), aged be ween 18 and 26 (M= 20.34, SD = 2.05). O hese pa ici-
pan s, 68.2% desc ibed hemsel es as he e osexual, 22.6% as bisexual, 7.1% as homosexual, and
2.1% as o he o ien a ions. Due o he small sample sizes o he non-he e osexual pa icipan s,
hose pa icipan s we e g ouped in o a sexual mino i y ca ego y (31.8%).
Da a we e collec ed h ough he In e ne wi h Google Fo ms in Decembe 2019. The link o
he su ey was dis ibu ed h ough he s uden e-mail lis s o he au ho s’ uni e si y. The su -
ey emained open o 14 days. Pa icipan s p o ided in o med consen a e eading he
desc ip ion o he s udy, whe e he anonymi y o hei esponses was clea ly s a ed. This p oce-
du e was app o ed by he E hics Re iew Boa d o Clinical Resea ch o he egion (PI18/058).
The p esen sample is pa o a la ge da a se used in a p e ious in es iga ion [10]. Howe e ,
he da a used o his s udy do no ma ch ei he he esea ch ques ions, he a iables used, o
he subse o da a used.
Measu es
Sociodemog aphic and da ing apps use ques ionnai e. We asked pa icipan s abou
hei gende (woman, men, o he ), age, and sexual o ien a ion (he e osexual, homosexual,
bisexual, o he ). We also asked whe he pa icipan s had used any da ing app (e.g., Tinde ,
G ind ) in he h ee mon hs p io o pa icipa ing in he s udy. We used a ime ame o h ee
mon hs as wha we conside ed a comp omise be ween wo needs: To conside cu en use s
while s ill ha ing a la ge enough sample size. Wi h longe ime ames, he meaning o ’cu en
use’ is dilu ed. Wi h a much s ic e ime ame, he numbe o cu en use s would no be
enough o he in ended analysis, while he meaning o ’cu en use’ could be misleading (con-
side he case i you ask o use in he las 24 hou s and a e y ac i e use wi hou In e ne con-
nec ion in he p e ious day).
Sociosexual O ien a ion In en o y-Re ised (SOI-R [15]). This ins umen has nine
i ems ha assess sociosexual o ien a ion/sho - e m o ien a ion on he basis o h ee dimen-
sions: Beha io (e.g., "In he las wel e mon hs, wi h how many di e en pa ne s ha e you
had sexual in e cou se wi hou ha ing an in e es in a long- e m commi ed ela ionship wi h
his pe son?"; α= .94 –all epo ed alphas co espond o alues ob ained wi h he cu en sam-
ple–), A i udes (e.g., "Sex wi hou lo e is OK"; α= .81), and Desi e (e.g., "How o en do you
ha e an asies abou ha ing sex wi h someone wi h whom you do no ha e a commi ed
oman ic ela ionship?"; α= .79). These i ems a e a ed on a nine-poin scale, anging om 1 =
0 o 9 = 20 o mo e in he Beha io ac o ; om 1 = s ongly disag ee o 9 = s ongly ag ee in he
A i udes ac o ; and om 1 = ne e o 9 = a leas once a day in he Desi e ac o . We used he
Spanish alida ion [38] wi h a modi ica ion in he Beha io dimension. While in he o iginal
Spanish alida ion, no speci ic ime ame is p o ided, in he p esen da a collec ion, we speci-
ied a 12-mon h pe iod.
Long Te m Ma ing O ien a ion Scale (LTMO [24]). This ins umen has se en i ems
ha assess long- e m ma ing o ien a ions wi h a single componen (e.g., "I hope o ha e a
oman ic ela ionship ha las s he es o my li e"; α= .87). These i ems a e a ed on a se en-
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poin scale, anging om 1 = s ongly disag ee o 7 = s ongly ag ee. De ails abou he ques ion-
nai e ansla ion in o Spanish and i em wo ding can be ound in he S1 Appendix.
Con ol ques ion. Embedded in he LMTO as i s 8 h i em and in o de o check whe he
he pa icipan s paid enough a en ion o he wo ding o he i ems, we in oduced an i em ask-
ing he pa icipan s o espond o i wi h s ongly disag ee.
Da a analysis
The analyses we e pe o med wi h R 4.0.2. Fi s ly, we compu ed desc ip i es and co ela ions
be ween he di e en a iables. The co ela ions be ween dicho omous a iables (gende , sex-
ual o ien a ion, ha ing used apps) wi h age and he ou ma ing o ien a ion sco es we e ans-
o med o Cohen’s d o acili a e hei in e p e a ion.
Secondly, we compu ed linea eg ession models, wi h ma ing o ien a ion sco es as c i e ia
a iables and gende , sexual o ien a ion, age, and ha ing used apps as p edic o s. As he me ic
o he dependen a iables is no easy o in e p e , we s anda dized hem be o e he eg ession.
In hese models, eg ession coe icien s indica e he expec ed change in s anda d de ia ion
uni s.
No missing da a we e p esen in ou da abase. The open da abase and code iles o hese
analyses a e a ailable a he Open Science F amewo k eposi o y (h ps://os .io/phy4n/).
Resul s
The associa ions among he di e en a iables, wi h he desc ip i es, can be seen in Table 1.
As could be expec ed, hose wi h highe long- e m o ien a ion showed lowe sho - e m o ien-
a ion, bu hose ela ions we e small ( = –.35, 95% CI [–.41,–.30], o SOI-R A i ude; =
–.13, 95% CI [–.19,–.06], o bo h SOI-R Beha io and Desi e).
O he pa icipan s, 20.3% (n= 183) epo ed ha ing used da ing apps in he las h ee
mon hs. Conce ning sociodemog aphic a iables, hose using da ing apps ended o be olde
(d= 0.30, 95% CI [0.14, 0.46]), men ( = .08, 95% CI [.02, .15]) and non-he e osexual ( = –.20,
95% CI [–.26,–.14]).
Table 1. Bi a ia e ela ions o he di e en a iables and desc ip i e s a is ics.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Pea son [95% CI]
1. SOI-R Beha io
2. SOI-R A i ude .45 [.39,.50]
3. SOI-R Desi e .28 [.22,.34] .45 [.40,.50]
4. LTMO –.13 [–.19,–.06] –.35 [-.41, -.30] –.13 [–.19,–.06]
5. Age .19 [.13,.26] .12 [.06,.19] .16 [.10,.22] .02 [–.04,.09]
Cohen’s d[95% CI]
6. Men –0.10 [–0.24, 0.03] –0.07 [–0.20, 0.07] 0.35 [0.22, 0.49] 0.18 [0.04, 0.31] 0.05 [–0.08, 0.19] Pea son [95% CI]
7. He e osexual –0.23 [–0.38, –0.09] –0.25 [–0.39, –0.11] –0.15 [–0.29, –0.01] 0.16 [0.02, 0.30] 0.13 [–0.01, 0.27] .01 [–.06,.07]
8. Apps used 0.83 [0.66, 1.00] 0.52 [0.35, 0.68] 0.50 [0.33, 0.66] –0.11 [–0.27, 0.06] 0.30 [0.14, 0.46] .08 [.02,.15] –.20 [-.26, -.14]
Mean 6.31 18.7 13.11 35.75 20.34 .37 .68 .20
S anda d de ia ion 4.64 6.65 5.49 9.20 2.05 .48 .47 .40
No es: SOI-R = Sociosexual O ien a ion In en o y-Re ised; LTMO = Long Te m Ma ing O ien a ion Scale; CI = con idence in e al; Men = dummy a iable whe e
women = 0 and men = 1; He e osexual = dummy a iable whe e sexual mino i y = 0 and he e osexual = 1; Apps used = dummy a iable indica ing whe he any da ing
app was used in he h ee mon hs p io o pa icipa ing in he s udy. Bold alues co espond o s a is ically signi ican associa ions (p<.05)
h ps://doi.o g/10.1371/jou nal.pone.0246350. 001
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Wi h espec o ma ing o ien a ion, hose using apps showed highe sco es in all h ee
SOI-R dimensions, mainly in sho - e m beha io (ds in he ange [0.50, 0.83]). All p e iously
epo ed associa ions we e s a is ically signi ican (ps<.001). Impo an ly, no s a is ically sig-
ni ican di e ences in long- e m o ien a ion sco es we e ound as a unc ion o using o non-
using da ing apps and he con idence in e al only included wha could be conside ed as null
o small e ec sizes (d= –0.11, 95% CI [–0.27, 0.06], p= .202).
While men p esen ed a highe sociosexual desi e han women (d= 0.35, 95% CI [0.22,
0.49], p<.001) and highe long- e m o ien a ion sco es (d= 0.18, 95% CI [0.04, 0.31], p=
.010), no s a is ically signi ican di e ence was ound in sho - e m beha io (d= –0.10, 95%
CI [–0.24, 0.03], p = .146) o a i ude (d= –0.07, 95% CI [–0.20, 0.07], p= .333). Sexual mino -
i y pa icipan s p esen ed highe sco es han he e osexual pa icipan s in all h ee dimensions
o sho - e m o ien a ion (beha io : d= 0.23, 95% CI [0.09, 0.38], p= .001; a i ude: d= 0.25,
95% CI [0.11, 0.39], p<.001; desi e: d= 0.15, 95% CI [0.01, 0.29], p= .035), while he e osexual
pa icipan s showed a highe long- e m o ien a ion (d= 0.16, 95% CI [0.02, 0.30], p= .023).
Olde pa icipan s showed highe sho - e m o ien a ion sco es (beha io : = .19, 95% CI
[.13,.26]; a i ude: = .12, 95% CI [.06,.19]; desi e: = .16, 95% CI [.10,.22]; all ps<.001), bu
age was no ela ed o long- e m o ien a ion ( = .02, 95% CI [–.04,.09], p= .462).
Resul s o he ou eg ession models a e shown in Table 2. While con olling o gende ,
sexual o ien a ion, and age, he pa e n o esul s o da ing apps use emained basically
unchanged wi h espec o bi a ia e associa ions. Gi en he goals o ou manusc ip , we will
ocus ou a en ion on he di e ences be ween use s and non-use s o da ing apps. Those
using apps, wi h espec hose no using hem, showed a sco e 0.73 s anda d de ia ions highe
in sho - e m Beha io (95% CI [0.57, 0.88], R2
adj ¼:13), 0.44 s anda d de ia ions highe in
sho - e m A i ude (95% CI [0.28, 0.60], R2
adj ¼:06), and 0.39 s anda d de ia ions highe in
sho - e m Desi e (95% CI [0.23, 0.55], R2
adj ¼:08; all ps<.001). Howe e , no signi ican e ec
was p esen o apps use in long- e m o ien a ion (b= –0.10, 95% CI [–0.26, 0.07], p= .251).
Discussion and conclusions
The de elopmen o da ing apps in ecen yea s has gene a ed some deba es, especially ela ed
o he mo i a ions o hei use. Usually, i has been conside ed ha da ing apps we e used o
casual sex, al hough o he s udies ha e shown ha he easons o hei use a e mo e di e se
Table 2. Mul iple eg ession analysis o he di e en ma ing o ien a ion scales.
SOI–R Beha io SOI–R A i ude SOI–R Desi e LTMO
R2
adj F p R2
adj F p R2
adj F p R2
adj F p
0.13 34.78 <.001 0.06 14.58 <.001 0.08 20.05 <.001 0.01 3.37 .009
b[95% CI] SE p b [95% CI] SE p b [95% CI] SE p b [95% CI] SE p
In e cep –1.62 [–2.23, –1.01] 0.31 <.001 –0.98 [-1.62, -0.34] 0.32 .003 –1.51 [–2.14, –0.88] 0.32 <.001 –0.37 [–1.03, 0.28] 0.33 .262
Men –0.16 [–0.28, –0.03] 0.06 .015 –0.10 [–0.23, 0.03] 0.07 .132 0.31 [0.18, 0.45] 0.07 <.001 0.18 [0.05, 0.32] 0.07 .008
He e o –0.13 [–0.26, 0.01] 0.07 .062 –0.19 [-0.33, -0.05] 0.07 .008 –0.10 [–0.24, 0.04] 0.07 .144 0.14 [0.00, 0.28] 0.07 .054
Age 0.08 [0.05, 0.11] 0.02 <.001 0.05 [0.02, 0.08] 0.02 .001 0.07 [0.04, 0.10] 0.02 <.001 0.01 [–0.02, 0.04] 0.02 .490
Apps used 0.73 [0.57, 0.88] 0.08 <.001 0.44 [0.28, 0.60] 0.08 <.001 0.39 [0.23, 0.55] 0.08 <.001 –0.10 [–0.26, 0.07] 0.09 .251
No es: SOI-R = Sociosexual O ien a ion In en o y-Re ised; LTMO = Long Te m Ma ing O ien a ion Scale; CI = con idence in e al; Men = dummy a iable whe e
women = 0 and men = 1; He e osexual = dummy a iable whe e sexual mino i y = 0 and he e osexual = 1; Apps used = dummy a iable indica ing whe he any da ing
app was used in he h ee mon hs p io o pa icipa ing in he s udy. Bold alues co espond o s a is ically signi ican coe icien s (p<. 05).
h ps://doi.o g/10.1371/jou nal.pone.0246350. 002
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and complex and may include, among o he s, he sea ch o long- e m oman ic ela ionships
[2–9]. In he a emp o con ibu e in o ma ion o his deba e, he objec i e o his s udy was o
analyze possible di e ences in he ma ing o ien a ions in a sample o single young uni e si y
s uden s depending on whe he o no hey we e use s o da ing apps.
In esponse o he main objec i e o he s udy, di e ences we e ound be ween use s and
non-use s o da ing apps in he h ee dimensions o sho - e m o ien a ion–especially in socio-
sexual beha io –bu no in long- e m o ien a ion. Tha is, among app use s, i is compa a i ely
easie o ind mo e un es ic ed sexually-o ien ed people, whe eas use s and non-use s do no
di e in hei in e es in main aining a long- e m oman ic ela ionship.
This allows se e al conclusions o be d awn. Fi s , acco ding o he exis ing li e a u e and
he cons uc s e alua ed, i seems logical ha hose who use da ing apps, many who a e open
o casual sex, will sco e highe in he h ee dimensions o sociosexuali y han hose who do no
use hem [9,17]. Secondly, he absence o di e ences in he long- e m o ien a ion indica es
ha he o ien a ions a e no exclusi e and con a y o each o he [24,25]. Da ing apps use s,
al hough open o sho - e m ela ionships, a e no eluc an o long- e m ma ing. This con-
e ges wi h p e ious esul s as longi udinal highe likelihood o o ming oman ic he longi u-
dinal by Tinde use s [34] o ha p e ious use is no ela ed o being single [10]. This pa e n
o esul s opens he doo o he pe cep ion ha he e may be lexibili y in ma ing o ien a ions
and p e e ences and ha hey can coexis simul aneously in people seeking bo h a casual ela-
ionship and a oman ic ela ionship [24].
Thi dly, among he con ibu ions o he a icle should be highligh ed he assessmen o
sociosexuali y om a mul idimensional poin o iew, dis inguishing be ween beha io , a i-
udes, and desi e, ollowing he ecommenda ions o o he au ho s [15,38]. I has been shown
ha he h ee dimensions o he cons uc , unde s ood as sho - e m o ien a ion, co ela e
posi i ely and di ec ly wi h each o he and in e sely wi h he long- e m o ien a ion, al hough
he in ensi y o he associa ion a ies, being mo e powe ul in a i udes and less powe ul in
sociosexual beha io and desi e. This poin s o he need o s ep away om he concep ualiza-
ion o un es ic ed sociosexuali y as equal o sho - e m ma ing o ien a ion and es ic ed
sociosexuali y as equal o long- e m ma ing o ien a ion [29]. As we p e iously no ed, es ic ed
sociosexuali y is be e unde s ood as lack o sho - e m o ien a ion, wha is no equi alen o
long- e m o ien a ion.
In addi ion, as ega ds he p e alence o use o da ing apps among he pa icipan s in he
las h ee mon hs, 20.3% o use s we e ound among hose who we e singles (12.7% o he o al
sample), which ep esen s a medium-low p e alence compa ed o o he s udies [2,3,5–7],
al hough i should be no ed ha , in hese s udies, sampling was aimed a inding people who
used da ing apps [1].
O he o he esul s ob ained, he mos ele an , al hough i was beyond he main objec i e
o he s udy, we e he di e ences ound in he long- e m o ien a ion be ween single men and
women. Con a y o ou expec a ions, men sco ed sligh ly highe han women in his a iable.
A g ea e long- e m o ien a ion had usually been ound in women [16,20,21,24,28]. As his is
he i s s udy o i s kind o be ca ied ou in Spain, i is di icul o iden i y he causes and
de e mine whe he his is a cul u al pa e n o whe he i simply esponds o he cha ac e is ics
o he s udy sample. In any case, his esul seems o sugges ha women a e inc easingly own-
e s o hei sexuali y and o he decisions ha ha e o do wi h i , mo ing away om he e ec s
o adi ional double s anda d [23].
Also con a y o expec a ions, a ela ionship was ound be ween age and sho - e m o ien-
a ion, bu no wi h long- e m ela ionships. The exis ing li e a u e de ends ha people go
changing p og essi ely hei p e e ences when hey g ow up, in ol ing in long- e m ela ion-
ships [22]. Howe e , due o he limi ed age ange o he pa icipan s o he p esen s udy, his
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a ia ion canno be seen in he in e es s and beha io s o uni e si y s uden s. Finally, we
ound ha while he e osexual pa icipan s we e mo e o ien ed o long- e m ma ing, sexual
mino i ies we e mo e inclined owa ds sho - e m ma ing. This esul was al eady p esen in
he li e a u e [33].
The s udy has a numbe o limi a ions. The use o da ing apps was e alua ed wi hou del -
ing in o he a ie y o uses, om hose who used i on a single a e noon as a joke among
iends o hose who used i o mon hs looking o a oman ic ela ionship. So, wha we
ea ed a uni a y (sel - epo ed) beha io –da ing apps use–included, in ac , impo an di e -
ences in mo i a ions o in ensi y. O he limi a ions we e ela ed o he ep esen a i eness o
he sample and he gene aliza ion o he esul s. Among he inal pa icipan s, he sample was
mos ly emale, aged be ween 18 and 26, single and om a single uni e si y, making he esul s
di icul o gene alize o all uni e si y s uden s and, s ill less o young non-uni e si y s uden s.
Conce ning o sexual o ien a ion, wo aspec s should be no ed. Fi s , he high p opo ion o
pa icipan s om sexual mino i ies, mo e han 30% o he inal sample. This could be consid-
e ed as a lack o ep esen a i eness o ou sample. We conside ha an al e na i e in e p e a-
ion is possible. This s udy sha es wi h p e ious s udies he same sampling app oach and
popula ion (Spanish uni e si y s uden s wi h he same age ange and om he same uni e -
si y). We will show he ime o da a collec ion and he p opo ion o sexual mino i y pa ici-
pan s: No embe 2018, 27.0% [14], Decembe 2017, 22.5% [9], May 2016, 14.7% [38], Ap il
2016, 12.7% [35], Oc obe 2013, 8.6% [39]. A clea end is ound. The p opo ion o sexual
mino i y pa icipan s is s eadily inc easing in ou samples.
We can imagine wo op ions o explain his. Fi s , ou su eys a e no jus biased by sexual
o ien a ion (highe p obabili y o pa icipa ion o non-he e osexual people), bu also ha bias
is g owing. We canno ind any heo e ically plausible explana ion o his po en ial change o
bias ac oss ime. Second, in ac in he popula ion o uni e si y s uden s (Spain, a single uni-
e si y) he p esence o non-he e osexuali y is inc easing. This second al e na i e would imply
ha he la ge numbe o non-he e osexual pa icipan s is no a p oblem o ep esen a i eness
o he samples.
This hypo hesis may be suppo ed by da a on he p e alence o pe sons om sexual mino i-
ies ound in o he s udies, which can be exempli ied in ha o Rahman e al. [40], who
assessed he p e alence o women´s and men´s sexual o ien a ion in 28 na ions and ound
simila p opo ions o hose o he p esen s udy, bo h in Spain (73% s. 27%) and in o he
coun ies (e.g., Uni ed S a es, Aus alia, Finland). The e seems o be a end owa d g ea e
sel -iden i ica ion as a membe o sexual mino i ies, pa alleling he dec ease in s igma and he
imp o emen in he quali y o li e o hese people, especially in coun ies wi h mo e ole an
laws, as is he case in Spain [41]. Howe e , u he esea ch is needed o cla i y his poin . And,
in any case, in ou eg ession analyses we included sexual o ien a ion as co a ia e. In addi ion,
o acili a e he analyses, we decided o g oup pa icipan s in o he e osexuals and non-he e o-
sexuals, hus losing he nuances ela ed o he beha io o membe s o sexual mino i ies.
Simila ly, ou s udy sha es wi h o he s udies based on sel -selec ed samples and sel -
epo ed measu es he ac ha he esul s may be limi ed by esponse and ecall bias. Finally,
like mos li e a u e on he subjec , his s udy is c oss-sec ional. I would be in e es ing o
design longi udinal in es iga ions, o assess he de elopmen and s abili y/change, bo h in he
use o da ing apps and in ma ing o ien a ions and hei associa ions.
Despi e hese limi a ions, he s udy is conside ed o mee he objec i e posed and answe s
he ques ion ha p omp ed i . Use s o da ing apps ha e a g ea e sho - e m o ien a ion han
non-use s, wi h no di e ences in long- e m o ien a ion. Thus, i can be said ha bo h ypes o
o ien a ions and ela ionships a e exp essions o sexuali y ha can coexis , ha hey a e no
conside ed as excluding and ha , ega dless o he ype o people’s sexual ela ions, he
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impo an hing is ha hey a e heal hy, pe o med in a con ex o mu ual espec . Wi h ega d
o he objec i e o he s udy, summa izing: da ing apps seem o be good o casual sex and no
bad o inding long- e m lo e.
Suppo ing in o ma ion
S1 Appendix.
(PDF)
Au ho Con ibu ions
Concep ualiza ion: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada, A
´ngel Cas o, Elena Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o, Ped o J.
Ramos-Villag asa.
Da a cu a ion: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada.
Fo mal analysis: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada.
Funding acquisi ion: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada, A
´ngel Cas o.
In es iga ion: A
´ngel Cas o.
Me hodology: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada.
P ojec adminis a ion: A
´ngel Cas o.
Resou ces: A
´ngel Cas o.
Supe ision: Elena Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o, Ped o J. Ramos-Villag asa.
Valida ion: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada.
Visualiza ion: Elena Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o, Ped o J. Ramos-Villag asa.
W i ing – o iginal d a : Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada, A
´ngel Cas o, Elena Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o, Ped o
J. Ramos-Villag asa.
W i ing – e iew & edi ing: Juan Ramo
´n Ba ada, A
´ngel Cas o, Elena Fe na
´ndez del Rı
´o,
Ped o J. Ramos-Villag asa.
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