‘What’s my score?’: the complexities of straight male Geo-Social Networking Application use

Abstract

Millions of people around the world use Geo-Social Networking Applications (GSNAs) to connect with new people and potential sexual partners. Using data from a broad study of GSNA users, this paper explores GSNA use by straight men and the implications on their positionality, masculinity, and for their leisure. Straight men showed that although they speak out against traditional masculine norms in their offline lives, on GSNAs they enact and embrace hegemonic norms of dating. This dualistic (re)presentation demonstrates some of the complexities of how contemporary leisure spaces (like dating) become digitally mediated, but maintain deep human-to-human involvement and traditionalist social expectations.

The Bumble motivations framework- exploring a dating App's uses by emerging adults in India

“…This result supports the reports [ 115 , 116 ] on the usage of Bumble in India in which men were the largest users of Bumble and exhibited a higher frequency of usage. Furthermore, the higher frequency of Bumble usage among men may be influenced by societal norms and expectations [ 117 , 118 ]. Men, on average, might feel more comfortable being proactive in their search for potential partners, leading them to use dating apps more frequently.…”

Introduction to Special Issue—Qualitative Inquiry in the 20/20s: Exploring Methodological Consequences of Digital Research Workflows

“…The sixth article, entitled "Methodology in Motion: Reflections on using Appnography," provides a revision to Cousineau et al's (2021) inquiry methods for the study of location-based dating app culture. More particularly, the authors, Johnson, Cousineau and Parry, conducted reflexive interviews of members of their research team about their experience using appnographic methods and propose "considerations" categories when incorporating app use into a digital workflow.…”

Methodology in Motion: Reflections on Using Appnography for the Study of Dating Apps

“…This is not true for straight men, since a profile of a straight man will not display for other straight men. The researcher must then develop other means of recruiting straight men to the study which might include the researcher’s peer group (Cousineau et al, 2021).…”