Believe the mass media hype about Tinder while understand it as epicenter of youth hookup tradition. The application is constantly plagued by accusations of advertising casual sex, but a recent survey from university tasks startup WayUp states the belief of Tinder could be a far cry from the real life.

The survey asked 200 students about their internet cougar online dating routines. Seventy-three per cent ranked Tinder as their preferred matchmaking application, with Bumble at 13% and OkCupid at 10per cent. A lone student listed fb as her dating internet site of preference.

It’s not a surprise that students reveal a powerful preference for Tinder. They certainly were amongst Tinder’s the majority of energetic customers when the app founded in 2012, and today Tinder says 50% of their customers come into the school age bracket.

What’s more surprising is exactly what they say they’re using it for. Twenty per cent said they truly are looking a hookup, 27percent mentioned they may be selecting a substantial different, and also the bulk – at 53per cent – mentioned they use internet dating apps to track down pals.

Therefore would be that Tinder’s strong, dark colored key? It isn’t really the sex-fueled free-for-all everybody thinks it’s?

Both students and researchers think the survey actually a precise reflection associated with the internet dating landscape. Sydney Mastandrea, a sophomore at University of Miami, told CNN Money, “I think men and women make use of [Tinder] for haphazard hookups without [finding] buddies — but state it is for ‘friends’ so they really aren’t judged.”

Aditi Paul, a Ph.D. candidate exploring internet dating at Michigan condition college, believes college students have no need for an app to assist in finding friendships, given that college experiences supplies a wealth of possibilities for personal relationships.

And/or pupils say “friendship” because they don’t really know what they’re obtaining. Kathleen Bogle, professor and writer of starting up: gender, Dating, and relations on Campus, told Inside Higher Ed the propensity for students to utilize the term could originate from their unique proclivity for unlabeled passionate communications. Without a far more formal phase, they default to “friendship” to keep their possibilities available.

“I don’t know that in my opinion that individuals are simply trying to make pals via Tinder as well as have hardly any other purposes beyond that,” Bogle said. “I think that’s merely a sign of getting open to whatever happens, happens.”

Rosette Pambakian, vp of marketing and sales communications at Tinder, takes an even more open-minded look at the program. In 2014, she informed Elle, “the point was actually never just for dating, it was for social development as a whole … The co-founders wished to generate a very efficient method to fulfill folks close to you who you would haven’t ever came across before.”

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter to Tinder. Whether university students are searching for friendships, hookups, or long-term love, they truly are however by using the app. For lots more about service, you can read our post on Tinder