Exploring The Impact of Social Dating Applications on Relationships During the Covid-19 Pandemic Among Young Adults
4.2 Demographics .1 Knowledge
In regards to the responses that the researchers have collected from the six interviewee who have used or are still using social dating application Tinder and Baituljannah, six of them stated that they were aware of the existence of social dating applications that are available in Malaysia and have engaged in at least one social dating applications such as Tinder, Baituljanah and Bumble.
Tinder is a social dating application where “swiping” on the photograph of another user that will uncover a slightly longer description of another user, and it will show a collection of the user's
89 photographs. If the user chooses to interface with another user, they will either swipe left or right (Derk, 2016).
Whereas, Bumble is a social dating application similar to Tinder where users create a small profile of themselves with pictures and they can swipe through, however the difference between Bumble and Tinder is that Bumble only allows the female to make the first move and she has to send the first message. If the woman does not send the first message within 24 hours after pairing, the match is lost (Kindred, 2021). On the other hand, Baituljannah is a Muslim-Friendly social dating application as it is a Sharia-friendly characteristic, restricted security, and shields Muslim single men and women to have the way of Islamic courtship (mosite, 2021).
Yes, I have used a couple of dating applications. Mostly Bumble or Tinder. (T1 – 26/1/22) Yeah, I have use Bumble and Tinder and also Baituljannah. (B1 – 27/1/22)
Yes, I am aware of few of them such as Tinder, Baituljannah, and Bumble. (B2 – 17/2/22)
4.2.2 Activeness
From the previous analysis (4.2.1), all six interviewees are social dating applications users yet they were active user. Active user is a person who accesses an app for a given period of time. During this period each user is counted uniquely to provide an app developer with an accurate figure of how many people use an app, whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly (AppsFlyer, 2022). Based on this study, the researchers concluded that social dating applications were one of the go-to
90 applications for the informants during the pandemic and majority of them have their own reasons in using social dating applications during pandemic.
Based on the responses, majority of the informants (T1, T2, T3, B1 and B3) affirmed that they consistently used social dating applications during the pandemic. However, B2 was not consistent in using social dating application because the informant mentioned that the purpose of using social dating application was just to try it out.
Yes, I am active during the pandemic. (T2 – 27/1/22)
I did use Tinder and Baituljannah during the first wave of pandemic. I used it one week twice or thrice, it wasn’t that frequent. (B2 – 17/2/22)
On the other hand, B1 mentioned that although he was an active user during the pandemic, the informant found out that the users on Tinder and Bumble were not looking for serious relationship and therefore the informant was demotivated in using the both mentioned social dating applications as the informant was looking for a serious relationship during that period. Hence, the informant moved to Baitiuljannah in order to search for a serious relationship.
Yes, I do. So I have used it last year. Since the pandemic was very rough. You know, I felt like the girls on Tinder and Bumble, they were not very, they were very playful. And they will and and so as I was looking for a very serious relationship. (B1 – 27/1/22)
91 4.2.3 Exposure
Based on the previous responses, majority of the users were an active user during the pandemic.
This is because due to the pandemic, most individual was isolated and they wish to seek for some social interaction. Hence, social interaction is necessary especially during the pandemic.
According to Karimi et al (2014), the internet and social media have enabled two-way communication to the audiences where now delivering and receiving functions are developed between the media and its users. Hence, gratifications obtained refers to the audience’s experience through the medium, whereas gratifications sought can be referred to as needs or intentions of the audience expecting to gain from a medium before they have come into contact with it.
In order to gratify the communication needs therefore social dating applications is needed at that particular time, it is an alternative way of communication for these informants to communicate with others during the pandemic. All the informants got exposed of the social dating applications from sources. The sources were social media, word of mouth and traditional media.
Commonly, the informants (T2, B2 & B3) got exposed through word of mouth from friends. Since the informants intended to satisfy their communication needs, their friends have introduced social dating applications such as Tinder and Bumble.
92 As for Muslims, Baituljannah is a choice due to the interface setting which provides a sense of security. However, other social dating applications like Tinder and Bumble serve as other choices besides Baituljannah
I think that’s a long time, maybe it was 9GAG actually. That was long time ago (T1 – 26/1/22)
I discovered Tinder because I heard about it from a TV show or movie. For Bumble, I started using it recently, two years from now. It was mentioned by a friend who was using Bumble too, while Tinder is because of some shows. (T2 – 27/1/22)
Because in that time during MCO we had to stay at home and I was lonely. That’s why I started to use Tinder to find new friends. While Baituljannah, my friend introduced it to me and he said this application requires the user’s information such as IC number, basically it needs you to provide your personal details. (B3 – 12/3/22)
By this the researchers concluded that social dating applications is starting to become a trend among young adults in Malaysia especially during the pandemic. Based on the following responses, four out of six informants (T3, B1, B2, & B3) stated that they started to use social dating applications during the pandemic.
However, the remaining two informants (T1&T2) were already exposed to social dating applications in a young age. Both of the informants found that is a common norm to start using
93 social dating application in a young age. This is because in this digitalised era, there are more than 200,000 secondary school kids have been groomed online (Online dating, 2020). Hence, the researchers concluded that, social dating applications will become a more common trend among young adults in Malaysia.
I’m only started using them since the pandemic and until now. (T3 – 10/2/22)
Tinder from December 2020 until January 2021. Baituljannah in March last year until I met my girlfriend in October. (B3 – 12/3/22)