Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40193188›Full record

ArticleJMIR formative research2025

Are Dating App Algorithms Making Men Lonely and Does This Present a Public Health Concern?

Eric Balki

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR formative research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Eric BalkiFaculty of Health and Medicine, Department of Health, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-5404-7187

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During the pandemic, dating apps emerged as essential platforms connecting users amid social isolation, experiencing rapid growth in engagement and profile creation. This paper examines the evolution of these apps, highlighting their shift from facilitating offline encounters to promoting match accumulation for revenue. In particular, the study investigates gender disparities, addictive behaviors, and algorithmic match throttling that disproportionately impact men's psychological well-being. Drawing on evidence linking dating app use to increased depression and anxiety, the analysis calls for regulatory intervention to eliminate pay-for-advantage models and ensure fair, healthy user experiences, thereby mitigating adverse public health outcomes.

Indexed as

Interpersonal RelationsMobile ApplicationsPublic HealthSocial IsolationAdultAlgorithmsCOVID-19FemaleHumansMalealgorithmanxietydating appsdepressionlonelinessmenmental health

Identifiers

PMID40193188
PMCPMC12012395

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.