Meet your match: The moderating role of self-surveillance and body shame in the relationships between dating app use and mental health outcomes amongst Australian men

Mental health is amongst one of the largest concerns for men in Australia. The use of dating apps has been identified as a contributor to poorer mental health outcomes in men. This study aimed to enhance knowledge of the relationship between dating app use (gay vs mainstream) and mental health by identifying whether pre-existing levels of self-surveillance and body shame had a moderating effect. Australian men (aged 18 to 62, M = 35.30 years; 63% self-identified as a sexual minority) who used dating apps (n=266) were surveyed on their dating app behaviours, self-surveillance, body shame, mental health, and self-esteem. Overall, gay dating app users reported significantly poorer mental health and self-esteem. After controlling for age and sexuality, body shame significantly moderated the relationships between app type and mental health and self-esteem. Specifically, mainstream dating app users with high body shame reported poorer mental health outcomes than gay dating app users. Amongst those with low levels of body shame, mainstream dating app use was associated with better self-esteem and mental health outcomes than gay dating app use. Conversely, there was no significant moderating effect of self-surveillance on these relationships. These findings provide evidence that pre-existing levels of body shame in combination with different types of app use play a role in men’s mental health outcomes.