Dating Apps and Their Effect On Self-Esteem in Cis-Het Males

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Dating apps and their effect on self-esteem in cis-het males
Research proposal
Gaurav Wakode & Dr. Sangeeta Kamath.
TYBA, Semester V, 2021-22
Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga

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Introduction
Dating app is a digital program that allows one to match potential romantic partners based on
one’s preferences.
Self-esteem is defined as the positive or negative attitudes one holds about himself or herself.
(Rosenberg, 1965)
Literature Review
 DENVER — Whether they’re swiping left or swiping right, male users of the popular
dating app Tinder appear to have lower levels of self-esteem and all users appear to
have more negative perception of body image than those who don’t use the app,
according to research presented at the annual convention of the American
Psychological Association. (apa.org/)
 Objectification, internalization, body surveillance and lower levels in body

satisfaction and self-esteem. (Breslow et al., 2020)
 The usage of the “swipe” function is linked to social comparison and self-criticism
and therewith to lower self-esteem (James, 2015)
-Faesing, Lea Marie (2020) Swipe for self-esteem decline? : The impact of usage, frequency,
and type of online dating applications on self-esteem.
 Kim, Kwon, and Lee (2009) discovered that highly sociable people that also have
high self-esteem are more likely to use Internet dating than highly sociable people
with low self-esteem when they consider romantic relationships to be of importance.
 The study was unable to conclude that there was a significant difference between non-
dating application users and dating application users in terms of lower overall scores
on mental health measures of both self-esteem and body perception. (Takahiro
Shimokobe et. al, 2018)

Statement of Problem
This research intends to study the effect of online dating applications on self-esteem on cis-
het males.
Hypotheses
Participants using dating apps were found to have a lower self-esteem score (as measured as
RSE) as compared to the self-esteem score (as measured by RSE) of the participants who
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were not using dating apps. (i.e., the participants using dating apps had a lower self-esteem as
compared to the participants not using dating apps.)
Rationale
A correlation with the usage of multiple online dating applications and by creating an
idealized online dating identity, the difference between the ideal self and the perceived self
leads to high levels of self-criticism, which further results in a decrease of self-esteem
(Strubel & Petrie, 2017).
Variables
Independent Variables- Dating apps- Dating app is a digital program that allows one to
match potential romantic partners based on one’s preferences.
In the present study, the IV is dating apps, with two levels. i.e., participants using dating apps
and participants not using them.
Dependent Variable- Self-Esteem- Self-esteem is defined as the positive or negative

attitudes one holds about himself or herself. (Rosenberg, 1965)
In the present study, the Dependent Variable is Self-Esteem, as measured in terms of the
scores on the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale.
Control variables
1. Age- 18-25
2. Geographical location- Participants will be from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai
districts.
3. Gender- cisgender-heterosexual males.
Roughly half or more of 18–29-year-olds 48% and LGB adults, 55 percent say they
have used a dating app while only 30 percent of cis het people claim to have used a
dating app. (Anderson, Vogels & Turner, 2020)
The strong and consistent finding regarding gender and self-esteem is that compared with
men, women have lower levels of self-esteem in adulthood (Josephs, Markus, & Tafarodi,
1992). Although boys and girls start with very similar levels of self-esteem in early
adolescence (between ages 11 and 13), they gradually diverge throughout the teenage
years and adulthood with boys gaining a sense of positive self-worth and girls losing that
sense. (McMullin & Cairney, 2004).
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4. Must be able to read, understand and comprehend English.
Method
This study is a Natural Experiment.
Sampling method used is random sampling.
Inclusion Criteria: A sample of 100 individuals with equal distribution (i.e., 50 participants
using dating apps and 50 participants not using dating apps.)
These participants must be cis-het men only, between the age of 18-25 and must be able to
read and comprehend English.
Exclusion criteria: The participants must not have any diagnosed psychological or
psychiatric disorders.
Tools used
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)
Materials
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE)
Author: Morris Rosenberg
The purpose of the 10 item RSE scale is to measure self-esteem. Originally the measure was
designed to measure the self-esteem of high school students. However, since its development,
the scale has been used with a variety of groups including adults.
This is a four-point scale.
Ten statements are included in the self-report measure that pertain to self-worth and self-
acceptance. A four-point scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” The
items were selected as a Guttman scale with 7 “contrived items.”
Reliability and Validity of the RSES-
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale presented high ratings in reliability areas; internal
consistency was 0.77, minimum Coefficient of Reproducibility was at least 0.90 (M.
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Rosenberg, 1965, and personal communication, April 22, 1987). A varied selection of
independent studies each using such samples as – parents, men over 60, high school students,
and civil servants – showed alpha coefficients ranging from 0.72 to 0.87 (all fairly high).
Test-retest reliability for the 2-week interval was calculated at 0.85, the 7-month interval was
calculated at 0.63 (Silber & Tippett, 1965, Shorkey & Whiteman, 1978). The RES is closely
connected with the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory.
Procedure
Questionnaires will be distributed through the online medium of Google forms to the sample
of 100 individuals with equal representation of people using dating apps and people not using
dating apps.
First, the participants will be asked to fill out the demographic details and then will be asked
to solve the RSES.
To score the items, we assign a value to each of the 10 items as follows:
1) For items 1, 2, 4, 6, 7: Strongly Agree = 3, Agree = 2, Disagree = 1, and Strongly

Disagree = 0.
2) For items 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 (which are reversed in valence, and noted with the asterisks**
below): Strongly Agree = 0, Agree = 1, Disagree = 2, and Strongly Disagree = 3. The
scale ranges from 0 - 30, with 30 indicating the highest score possible.
The gathered data will be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Treatment of data
Descriptive statistics:
 Self-esteem of all the participants will be measured using Rosenberg Self Esteem
Scale (RSES).
 Mean scores of the 2 conditions (Participants using dating apps and not using dating
apps) will be compared.
 An independent t-test will be conducted to determine if the difference between the

mean scores as measured by RSES of 2 conditions (Participants using dating apps and
not using dating apps) is statistically significant.
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 Expression of Data: -
 Comparative analysis of the total, mean scores, range and standard deviation on Self-
esteem of Ps using dating apps and Ps not using dating apps.
Ps using dating apps Ps not using dating apps
Total
Mean
Range
Standard Deviation (SD)
A bar graph will be drawn to graphically represent and compare the mean scores on Self-
esteem of both the groups.

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Dating apps and their effect on self-esteem in cis-het males

Gaurav Wakode & Dr. Sangeeta Kamath.

TYBA, Semester V, 2021-22

Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga

 Objectification, internalization, body surveillance and lower levels in body

Dependent Variable- Self-Esteem- Self-esteem is defined as the positive or negative

3. Gender- cisgender-heterosexual males.

4. Must be able to read, understand and comprehend English.

This study is a Natural Experiment.

Sampling method used is random sampling.

using dating apps and 50 participants not using dating apps.)

read and comprehend English.

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE)

Author: Morris Rosenberg

This is a four-point scale.

Reliability and Validity of the RSES-

To score the items, we assign a value to each of the 10 items as follows:

1) For items 1, 2, 4, 6, 7: Strongly Agree = 3, Agree = 2, Disagree = 1, and Strongly

apps) will be compared.

 An independent t-test will be conducted to determine if the difference between the

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