‘What if we don’t actually match?’ Exploring young people’s conceptualizations about the role of dating apps for identity and romantic relationships
In this study, I critically examined young people’s representations of digital dating, exploring beliefs about identity, relationships, and ‘genuine connection.’ With Tinder reporting 366 million users in 2022 and projections of 450 million by 2028 (Statista, 2024), digital dating remains central to contemporary relationships. For generations raised in an ‘always-on’ digital world, the boundaries between mediated and non-mediated interactions are increasingly blurred. This raises questions about how they conceptualize the relationship between embodied and digital identities and what implications […]