Dating Apps, Sexual Orientation, and Male Body Image: An Investigation in Singaporean and Swedish Samples

摘要

Public Significance Statement Dating app use is purported to be associated with poorer body image. However, we found that after accounting for sexual orientation, dating app use largely ceased to predict male body image outcomes. Thus, dating app use may not be as problematic as previously thought, and if any, its effects appear to be particular to sexual minority men. Current evidence suggests that dating app users experience greater body dissatisfaction than nonusers. However, these were mostly based on studies of sexual minority men (SMM) or studies that did not consider the effects of sexual orientation. In this study, we reexamined the association between dating app use and male body image using two culturally diverse samples, taking into account the potential confounding or moderating effect of sexual orientation. Male participants from Singapore (n = 201; 71 users) and Sweden (n = 279; 108 users) completed an online survey on dating app use and measures of body image disturbance and dissatisfaction. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that while dating app use indeed predicted overall dissatisfaction and muscularity dissatisfaction in the Singaporean sample, and body image disturbance, overall dissatisfaction, and height dissatisfaction in the Swedish sample, this ceased to be the case after we controlled for sexual orientation, except for height dissatisfaction in the Swedish sample. A moderation effect was also found in the Swedish sample: while SMM users had greater muscularity dissatisfaction than nonusers, this difference was not seen for heterosexual men. This study highlights the importance of considering both sexual orientation and cultural differences in the relationship between dating app use and body image.