Swipe Away Your Mental Health An Analysis of the Effect of Online Dating Design on User Mental Health and Overall Well-Being

Online dating continues to be one of the most common ways people meet one another. Only in the last couple of years has information begun to show how these online sites and applications negatively affect their users. This study examines how the User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) design of the dating app Tinder influences its users and its impact on their mental health and overall well-being. An online survey of 74 Tinder users between the ages of 18 and 35 was conducted, coded, and analyzed. The results of this study corroborate with previous research and claims that different User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) elements within Tinder do impact and influence their users. The results also substantiate the research and claims that online dating and dating apps do impact their users in a predominantly negative manner. Overall, this study found that while dating apps can lend themselves to helping people find someone, they have the power to influence and negatively impact their users’ beliefs, mental health, and overall well-being.