How CSU students are using dating apps

A poll of students shows mixed reviews of common dating apps, such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge.

Common dating apps include Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge. Photo courtesy of cnet.com

Dating apps are becoming increasingly popular, especially amongst college students. In fact, college-aged students, 18 to 29-year-olds, make up 15% of dating app users. People use dating apps for a variety of reasons, including finding “the one” or just for hook-ups. Regardless of the goal, there is a certain level of success they have had. So how do Cleveland State University students feel about those apps?

After posting a poll on Instagram, the Cauldron learned which apps CSU students used and their level of success in using those apps. According to our results, the most popular apps for CSU students are Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble. The majority of Bumble users described their experience with the app as okay, the Hinge users described their experience as good, and

Tinder users were split evenly between awful and okay, with a minority describing their experience as good. Tinder was used by 100% of the responding students, Bumble was used by 80%, and Hinge took third place at 20% of responding students. The fact that Tinder was the most popular app was not very surprising, since that is the #1 dating app according to Tom’s Guide.

Graph of dating apps used by students. Graphic by Matt Keyerleber

However, what was surprising was the most popular reason students use dating apps. The poll results revealed that most respondents (80%) use dating apps to find “the one” or a long-term relationship. While that was the intended purpose of dating apps when they initially gained popularity, my perspective lately has been that most people in this age range tend to use dating apps for “serial dating” or hooking up.

Top: A graph depicting student opinions on dating apps. Bottom: A graph showing why students use dating apps. Graphics by Matt Keyerleber

While there was a consensus on which dating apps students use and the reasons for using them, students were pretty split on their overall opinions on dating apps. Some students explained that the use of dating apps was against their religion, some students claimed they hated the apps, and some felt like dating apps could be helpful for specific situations. In fact, one student explained they used dating apps to explore their sexuality further because they felt comfortable doing so on that platform. One student described dating apps as “draining,” and another described them as “exhausting.”

Overall, most of the respondents from our poll had decent or negative experiences with dating apps. Does this mean we should give up on technology and start dating the old-fashioned way? Not necessarily. My motto is to do what works best for you, regardless of what everyone else is doing. However, if you use dating apps, always be careful when meeting people for the first time.

Author: Dina Usanovic

I am an English and Political Science major at CSU in my third year at the university. I love writing for the Cauldron and I'm so excited to bring student opinions to the forefront of university news!