Tinder: Differences from Culture to Culture

By: Lauren Rojas-Castillo

At A Glance● Ranked by Forbes as one

of the top 5 dating applications of 2015

● Focus: “A way to connect with new and interesting people around you”

● Average user spends 77 minutes/day on application.

Objective● To look at communication

norms of college students studying abroad on the dating application Tinder™, and whether they perceive those norms differ from culture to culture.

● Direct vs. Indirect communication

Method● Quantitative Research Method

● Sent out a 9 question survey to be completed by at least 25 students abroad asking them anonymously about their usage of the application, and their experiences with other cultures while using the application.

● Ideal candidates: Those who had downloaded the application before studying abroad in order for them to clearly see the differences in their culture on the app compared to other cultures.

Results ● 73% had downloaded

the application prior to going abroad

● 27% downloaded the application once they arrived in their study abroad country

Results● 46% downloaded the

app “Just for fun”

● 38.5% downloaded the app for “Casual” purposes

● 30.8% downloaded the app for “Social” purposes

● 30.8% downloaded the app for ‘Long-term” purposes

Results ● 7.7% use Tinder™ “Almost everyday”

● 42.3% use Tinder™ “Several times a week”

● 11.5% use Tinder™ “About once a week”

● 15.4% use Tinder™ “Several times a month”

● 3.9% use Tinder™ “About once a month”

● 11.5% use Tinder™ “Less than once a month”

● 7.7% use Tinder™ “Never”

Results

● 73% have met someone off Tinder™

● 26.92% have not met someone off Tinder™

Results● 30% have met someone

off of the app “Just for fun”

● 55% have met someone off of the app for “Casual” purposes

● 25% have met someone off of the app for “Social” purposes

● 25% have met someone off of the app for ‘Long-term” purposes

Results● 8% have only met

someone off of the app from Home

● 32% have only met someone off of the app from their abroad country

● 36% have met someone off of the app from both home and their abroad country

● 24% have not met someone off of the app

Results ● 76.92% have noticed that

certain countries are more aggressive and/or more straightforward than others

● 15.38% have not noticed that certain countries are more aggressive and/or more straightforward than others

● 7.69% saw no difference

Results ● Most Aggressive/

Straightforward: ● 75% stated France was the

most Aggressive/ Straightforward

● 72% stated Italy ● 64.7% stated Spain

● Somewhat Aggressive/ Straightforward

● 62.5% stated Ireland ● 47.3% stated England● 43.75 stated Germany

Advice From Participants ● “Dont…”

● “So much strange.”

● “I downloaded it to meet locals to show me parts of London you wouldn’t know unless you lived here. Not in it for dating/hook-up purposes. I was very mistaken.”

● “Be smart! Only meet up with people in a public place! Met a guy off Tinder in France and the first thing he did was grab my ass. We were just meeting up for lunch.”

Why is this important?● Through this survey I was able

to see how different countries and cultures are perceived. There was a commonality amongst many of the responses in regards to which countries were perceived to be more direct (straightforward and/or aggressive) than others.

● France was ranked as the most aggressive/ straightforward out of the countries listed.