True love on Tinder? Study says long-term relationships can arise from the dating app

Tinder may be more than just a dating app for casual hookups. Those who have been wondering whether they may be able to find a long-term relationship through the popular app may have just gotten their answer since a new study showed that such a long-term relationship can blossom out of these apps.

A study showed that there are couples who found each other on Tinder, and did not just meet for a night, but established a relationship that was for keeps. One Tinder user, Anthoni Allen-Zouhry, who was among the couples that were studied by researchers, has been married to her partner whom she met on Tinder and they are now expecting their first child.

The study, titled, "The demography of swiping right. An overview of couples who met through dating apps in Switzerland" published in the journal PLOS One, surveyed more than 3,200 people who were older than 18 years and who met their partner during the last decade.

The study noted that couples who met through the dating app were more eager to live together with a partner, as compared to those who met offline. For women, it stated that those ladies who find their partner through a dating app were found to be looking forward to wanting kids as compared to those women who found their partners through other means. There was not much difference in terms of happiness between couples who met offline or those who met through dating apps.

The study also noted that users of dating apps would often expand their horizons when it comes to their options for dating. Both men and women are able to meet other users who live in far-off locations and coming from different backgrounds.

Gina Portaca, a researcher at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and the study author, said that they examined data from a family survey in 2018 conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office to find out about relationships that are made offline and online. What they found out was that there was no proof that the apps have a negative impact on relationship quality. She also added that the study is quite reassuring in the sense that the popularity of dating apps have soared due to the health protocols amid the pandemic.

Tinder couple

In US News and World Reports, Pepper Schwartz, a sociology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, said that random hookups provide an added risk, however, it is hard to be alone in today's "uncertain" times.