The Universidad Europea’s Knowledge Group - Research on Social Issues has carried out a study called ”Enrolla2," the objective of which is to evaluate perceptions of security and risky attitudes among millennials linked to the use of dating apps.
The team, led by Daniel Briggs, professor of Criminology, and comprised of researchers Raquel Rebeca Cordero, Jorge Ramiro Pérez and Antonio Silva; and Juan Enrique Solé, a student in the Double Degree in Criminology and Psychology, has conducted more than 30 interviews with users between 18 and 35 years old, of all sexual orientations and genders, including people whose identity doesn’t fall into the male or female genders. In order to carry out the study, profiles have been created on six dating applications, through which a total of 310 direct contacts have been made and up to 800 interactions have taken place.
Although the research is currently in its phase 1, the first conclusions can already be drawn. The experts alert that millennials have risky attitudes, such as the normalization of unprotected sexual intercourse. Furthermore, phenomena were identified associated with dramaturgy (scripted action), instigation of drug use, attitudes that mimic patriarchal models, homophobia, and a tendency towards the anti-normative as a rule.
Other tendencies in the use of these applications have also been detected, such as the blurring of boundaries between sexual identities, thecommodification of relationships or the feeling of social emptiness when feeling like no one can be trusted. Despite this, the research team pointed out that using these applications is not a completely negative experience, since “in some cases they empower people who have problems socializing, enabling them to establish emotional or sexual bonds.”