Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Kelly Garcia, and I am majoring in Biology on a Pre-Veterinary track. I’m from Miami, FL, and I am a sophomore here at FSU! I’m involved in several clubs and organizations including Kesem and Animal Society, and am very interested in topics such as biology, psychology, sociology, and most of all, animals. While primarily pursuing a career in small animal medicine, I enjoy exploring my other topics of interest through the form of hobbies and other opportunities I am fortunate enough to be given by Florida State, such as UROP.

Swipe for Heartfelt Connections: An Examination of Physiological Effects of Swiping on Dating Applications

Abstract

Relationships, romance, and dating have remained at the center of our
lives as human beings throughout time. Children spend their youth observing the relationships pursued by the
adults in their life and eventually grow up to create their own. Dating, having evolved alongside
society’s newest technology, now involves applications that are used to find potential suitors in
real time rather than meeting them organically. “Online dating” using apps such as Tinder,
Bumble, and Hinge has become widespread and ordinary in today’s culture. Considering the
large role dating plays throughout most lifetimes, little is still known about the physiological
effects it is capable of having on one’s body as they pursue romantic relationships. Allowing
thorough observations to be made as a varied set of individuals reacted physiologically to
stimuli relating to relationships as they swiped “yes” or “no” to potential suitors on dating
applications provided us with gradual insight on what physiological effects transpire when
individuals participate in online dating specifically. By the utilization of correlation and
regression analyses, we were able understand that dating applications have minor implications
on physiological health. Swiping “yes” on a suitor was positively associated with systolic blood
pressure after several intervals of time, but not generally related to diastolic blood pressure
whatsoever.

Keywords: Physiology, Dating Applications, Dating Behavior, Mate Selection