Swipe Right Or Left; The Connection Between Online Dating & Your Mental Health

Set Realistic Expectations

Listen, it’s an awesome thing to have expectations and set of standards you not only hold yourself to but your presumed partner. However, the problem with expectations is sometimes they can let you down and distort your view of a potential partner. There is also the issue with two people having very different expectations of one another, such as many women seeking a long-term commitment finding men simply looking for sex, or vice-versa. Although there are men on many of these sites who are genuinely looking for a relationship, many men who are looking for a more casual encounter assume if a woman is online, she must be down for it too (which is not always the case). This can become incredibly stressful for any individual to endure, and might even develop into anxiety when dating, as many women (and men) might feel pressured to do something they are not one-hundred percent comfortable with. Point being, don’t let online dating shatter your expectations or discourage you from finding a genuine connection.

Keep reading to learn the devastating effects rejection can have on your self-esteem and mentality.

Rejection And Self-Esteem

Let’s face it: rejection sucks, and it isn’t easy to cope with. Using a dating site or app can be fun, satisfying, and may even boost your self-confidence at first. However, as time passes and match after match occurs, there is a lot of exposure to rejection. Low match rates, receiving cruel or rude messages, and even ghosting can make daters more cynical and even apprehensive to continue to be apart of the dating scene. Many experts - including therapists - have stated they see more anxiety and depression develop in clients who use dating apps on a regular basis due to the amount of rejection they face. Over time, the rejection an individual experiences on dating sites and apps can have a negative effect on how they feel about themselves and how they look, as well as lead to daters developing a ‘guard’ to protect themselves from the potential of getting hurt. Research has specifically shown male users on Tinder to have a low rate of matches, and only fifty percent of peopleactually message back.

The consequence of rejection on these apps is that some daters will begin to question their physical appearance, personality traits, online conversational skills, as well as the general intention of potential partners. Some users may even doubt themselves and their value, which may result in extreme anxiety of self-perceived flaws and imperfections. Another study conducted by researchers at the University of North Texas discovered Tinder users had lower self-esteem, poor body image and satisfaction with their appearance, and lower psychosocial well-being compared to non-users. All of which they believe is directly linked to an increase in constant rejection and frustration many users experience on the app.

Continue reading to unearth how online relationships often appear that they are not built to last.