Associations Between Social Anxiety, Depression, and Use of Mobile Dating Applications

This study explores associations between symptoms of social anxiety (SA) and depression with participants' extent of dating app use, self-reported motivations for dating app use, and likelihood of initiating interaction with dating app matches. Three-hundred seventy-four participants completed an online battery of surveys that examined psychopathology and dating app use. SA and depression symptoms were positively associated with participants' extent of dating app use, and symptoms of psychopathology and gender interacted to predict various dating app use motivations. Symptoms of SA and depression predicted lower likelihood of initiating contact with a dating app match among men but not women. This study provides an initial step toward understanding the relationship between SA, depression, and use of dating apps.