Home // SOTICS 2018, The Eighth International Conference on Social Media Technologies, Communication, and Informatics // View article
Authors:
Mandlakazi Ndlela
Maureen Tanner
Keywords: Online dating; Mobile dating apps; Tinder, Women; Psychological Empowerment; Affordances; Features
Abstract:
Modern romance and dating are currently experiencing a ‘digital revolution’ that is powered by online dating platforms. Different forms of social media and social networks, such as dating apps, are gradually tapping into the Internet’s acclaimed ability to empower users. Social media has been described a tool which plays a significant role in enabling women to gain control of and improve the quality of their lives. Literature suggests that online dating is of particular importance to women who seek to gain more control of their dating lives. While online dating apps and literature may cite women empowerment as the overall goal of dating apps such as Tinder, there is a need to empirically investigate the extent to which the use of dating apps empower women. The purpose of this study was therefore, to explore how women’s use of mobile dating apps promote or hinder their psychological empowerment. This study applied a qualitative, single case-study strategy of the Tinder dating app. A deductive approach was taken, as the study relied upon a conceptual model to illustrate Tinder’s affordances and features alongside the components of psychological empowerment. The research findings confirm that the use of mobile dating app affordances and features, to some extent, promote as well as hinder particular psychological empowerment components. The identified findings could further contribute to the understanding of how the use of specific online dating app affordances and features influence the psychological empowerment of women. An enhanced understanding of how women use these affordances and features, may encourage mobile dating app developers to rethink the design of their apps, in the context of women and their psychological empowerment.
Pages: 10 to 20
Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2018
Publication date: October 14, 2018
Published in: conference
ISSN: 2326-9294
ISBN: 978-1-61208-673-6
Location: Nice, France
Dates: from October 14, 2018 to October 18, 2018