The researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland (UNIGE) studied the data from the 2018 family surveys. They studied 3,235 adults who were in a relationship and had met their partner over the past ten years.
They found that couples who met in an app were more motivated to live together than others.
“The study does not say whether their final intention was to live together in the long or short term, but since there is no difference in the intention to marry, and that marriage is still a central institution in Switzerland, some of these couples probably see living together as a trial period before marriage, ‘Gina Potarca, a researcher at the Institute of Demography and Socioeconomics at UNIGE’s Faculty of Social Sciences, said in a statement.
Women who met their partners in programs also said they want and plan to have a child in the near future, researchers said. This is more common in app romances than in other ways of meeting.
Couples who met on apps were just as happy with the quality of the relationship and the quality of their lives as those who met in other circumstances, researchers found.
“The Internet is profoundly changing the dynamics of the way people meet,” Potarca said.
The study said that dating apps encourage “a mix” of people with different levels of education, especially between highly educated women and lower educated men.
Programs can also facilitate long-distance relationships, as users can connect with users for more than 30 minutes, she added.
“Because he knows that dating apps are likely to become even more popular during this year’s periods of exclusion and social distance, it is reassuring to dispel concerns about the long-term effects of using these tools,” Potarca added.