Risk Perceptions and Behaviours Among Youth Using Dating Applications in a Metropolitan City

Background : One of the primary goals of young adulthood is to establish a committed romantic relationship. During the last decade, Internet has become an important platform to initiate contact with potential romantic/sexual partners. The study aims to estimate usage of dating apps among young adults & understand implications of their use. Material & Methods : A cross-sectional study was done amongst 18-25 years college students from 3 colleges of Mumbai city. Minimum sample size required for the study was 1012. Ethical approval was obtained & data was collected through Google forms. Results : Of the 1641 participants, 208 (12.7 per cent) were using dating applications. Most common reason for use was finding love/partner, casual sex & exploring/experimenting. Association between use of dating applications was statistically significant with gender, duration of stay in city, relationship status, sexual orientation and habits. Conclusion : Use of apps in Mumbai is less compared to other metropolitan cities over the world. App usage is higher amongst the sexual minority groups & there is need to safeguard the interest & safety of app users.