Stop that swipe: Here’s how Tinder messes with your mental HEALTH

Earlier this month High School Musical heart-throb Zac Efron admitted he was left feeling down in the dumps after no one swiped right on his Tinder profile. 

And while that news is nothing short of concerning – like how on earth will we ever find love if a Hollywood star can't even get a swipe? – Zac's negative experience of the popular dating app is more common than you'd think.

According to a new study from the University of North Texas, Tinder could be lowering peoples' self-esteem and messing with their sense of body image all at the same time.

In one of the first psychological studies to focus primarily on the Tinder platform, researchers found that both male and female users reported less satisfaction with their bodies and looks when compared with non-users but, interestingly, only male Tinder users reported lower levels of self-esteem.

Jessica Strübel – who co-authored the study – said: "Tinder users reported having lower levels of satisfaction with their faces and bodies and having lower levels of self-worth than the men and women who did not use Tinder."

The Assistant Professor explained that Tinder usage was associated with "body dissatisfaction, body shame, body monitoring, internalization of societal expectations of beauty, comparing oneself physically to others and [a] reliance on media for information on appearance and attractiveness".

While Jessica did suggest that Tinder may make people feel like their social interactions are disposable and increase their awareness of perceived bodily flaws, the researchers did stress that the results could also be caused by people who already have self-esteem issues being drawn to the app to begin with.

Always remember no matter how many matches you get, you are flawless!

Feat image: Facebook

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