Digital Intimacy and Online Dating Practices
Summary
Digital intimacy encompasses the ways in which individuals establish and maintain emotional and romantic connections via online platforms. Over the past decade, mobile dating applications have transformed partner selection by combining profile curation, algorithmic matching and instantaneous messaging. Users navigate a complex interplay of visual presentation, social signalling and mediated self-disclosure, balancing authenticity with strategic impression management. These interactions not only reshape the pace and scale of dating but also influence users’ perceptions of desirability, commitment and risk. As technology-driven features—such as real-time video chat or geolocation tagging—become standard, the boundaries between public and private spheres blur, raising questions about consent, data governance and the long-term impact on relationship formation. Research in this field spans psychological well-being, sociocultural norms and the ethics of platform design, highlighting both opportunities for greater inclusivity and pitfalls such as decision fatigue and emotional burnout.
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Digital Intimacy and Online Dating Practices publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in digital intimacy and online dating practices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Digital intimacy: Emotional or romantic closeness experienced through digital communication technologies rather than in-person contact.
Affordance: The possibilities for action that a digital platform’s design and features enable or constrain for its users.
Swipe-based interface: A user interface paradigm allowing rapid horizontal gestures to accept or reject profile presentations.
Choice overload: A cognitive state in which an abundance of available options impairs decision-making and increases anxiety.
References
- 99 + matches but a spark ain’t one: Adverse psychological effects of excessive swiping on dating apps. Telematics and Informatics (2023).
- The agony of partner choice: The effect of excessive partner availability on fear of being single, self-esteem, and partner choice overload. Computers in Human Behavior (2022).
- The year of the “virtual date”: Reimagining dating app affordances during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Media & Society (2022).
- State-Run Dating Apps: Are They Morally Desirable?. Philosophy & Technology (2024).
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