Trust breach makes date-app user men go for casual sex: Study

Men on Tinder app generally think that when they go on a date with women less attractive than what her profile picture shows, they are entitled to have casual sex with her to compensate for 'breach of trust', finds a study.

Researchers found that men think they have a "licence to use women as they see fit".

"Everyone sees themselves as behaving honestly, while presenting the best possible branded version of themselves. Many of our respondents felt let down on meeting a woman and feeling that a visual representation hadn't been accurate," said Jenny van Hooff from the Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain.

"Some of our respondents felt that this breaking of trust was a licence (for them) to use their date as they saw fit, thereby speeding up intimacy and undermining it at the same time," Hooff added.

Sociologists from the university carried out a study on use of Tinder among men to find out how Tinder affected the nature of participants' relationships and intimacies.

"It is natural for human beings to take advantage of each other; and Tinder hasn't changed this, but made it easier," said Hooff.

"Self-promotion encouraged by digital culture appears to undermine authenticity in romantic encounters, often leading to disappointment in our participants' experiences," she said.

The researchers explored whether the choice of dating apps implies changes in dating experience.

They found that Tinder and other dating apps had "commodified" relationships, while at the same time making them easily available.

This could be liberating for men, but also made them feel vulnerable about how attractive and successful they were with women.

"The ready access of potential matches intensified feelings, so that on meeting someone a connection is already established. However, this also makes it more disposable, with relationships being ended quickly with little or no explanation -- with Tinder, the intimacy is speeded up, as one participant claimed," Hooff noted.