A study of college students found that Tinder users scored significantly higher on Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) than non-users, with effect sizes between d = 0.3 and 0.4.
"There was a study a few years ago on on Tinder users back when I think Tinder was still the number one dating app in the late 2010s and this was only on college students and they looked at students who uh had never used Tinder and students who were currently using Tinder and they they looked at the Dark Triad personality traits and found that the users of Tinder scored uh significantly higher uh pretty pretty sizable effect sizes .3, .4 uh higher for the Tinder users and the non-Tinder users." (said at 1:15:52)
Evidence on Tinder use and Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) indicates a positive association in several cross-sectional samples, particularly among male users and those seeking short-term casual encounters. A 2020 review noted that dark personality traits were more frequently reported among male Tinder users. However, findings across university cohorts are mixed and conditional: in a large sample of 1,705 university students, dark personality traits showed no independent predictive ability for dating app use after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and broad personality traits. Furthermore, all available evidence is cross-sectional and observational.
- context: Sexological Aspects Related to Tinder Use: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature. (Sexual medicine reviews 2020)
"However, specific personality traits related to dark personality (ie, the association of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) were more frequently reported among male Tinder users." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Profiling Dating Apps Users: Sociodemographic and Personality Characteristics. (International journal of environmental research and public health 2020)
"Participants were 1705 university students (70% women, 30% men), aged between 18 and 26 ( M = 20.60, SD = 2.09), who completed several online questionnaires. Through multinomial logistic regression analyses, it was found that men, older youth, and members of sexual minorities were more likely to be current and previous dating apps users. Being single and higher scores in open-mindedness were associated with higher probability to be current dating apps user. The dark personality showed no predictive ability." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)