Title
Motives and Concerns Associated with Geosocial Networking App Usage: An Exploratory Study Among Heterosexual College Students in the United States.
Abstract
Geosocial network application (GSNA) use is common among young adults. However, there is little empirical research into patterns of use, motives, and potential concerns among app users. A total of 409 heterosexual students from a public university in the southeast United States participated in an online survey. Sample composition was primarily Caucasian and in their first 2 years of college. Average age was 19.7 years. Results revealed that 39 percent of participants had used a GSN app, and 60 percent of these were regular users. Tinder was the most popular GSNA. Top reasons for app use were for fun (31 percent) and to meet people (11 percent). Very few users reported using them for casual sex encounters (4 percent), although many users (72 percent of men and 22 percent of women) were open to meeting a sexual partner with a GSNA. Regular users were less likely to be in dating relationships. In-person meetings of matches were relatively infrequent among app users. Those who did meet matches were very likely to vet them online in advance, and women were more likely to do so than men. App users rated them as relatively unsafe, women in particular. Top concerns included safety (44 percent), others misrepresenting their identities (35 percent), and privacy (18 percent). Overall, regular app users perceived their use as normative among peers, but they did not view the apps as particularly useful for meeting matches. Although there are few surveys of GSNA use among emerging adults in the United States, some limitations are noted, along with suggestions for future research.
Year
DOI
Venue
2018
10.1089/cyber.2017.0309
CYBERPSYCHOLOGY BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING
Keywords
Field
DocType
location-based mobile dating applications,geosocial networking apps,online dating,dating apps,online relationships
Social psychology,Sexual partner,Psychology,Young adult,Tinder,Casual,Network application,Exploratory research,Empirical research
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
21.0
4
2152-2715
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
4
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Meredith Griffin100.34
Amy Canevello200.34
Richard D McAnulty300.34