Assessing the Effect of Political Affiliation on Dating Preferences for Bumble Users

Evidence of a widening political divide between the Democrat and Republican parties creates concern over the possible ramifications of this phenomenon. One method of assessing dissonance between political parties is through a medium that is shaped by personal beliefs: online dating. Previous research finds that political choice homophily, or a preference for those who are politically similar, is relevant in online dating settings. Researchers find that individuals are significantly more likely to be attracted to or pursue others who have similar political views to themselves. There is, however, a gap in knowledge regarding online dating that occurs separately from conventional online dating sites. Mobile dating apps, applications that are highly popular amongst young adults, have not been thoroughly explored with political choice homophily in mind. The current study aims to test the correlation between dating preference and political beliefs, using the mobile dating app Bumble as a template for a mock (fake) dating app scenario. In the dating app survey that was distributed to 132 ASU students, participants completed a simulated “matching” section where they matched with a list of 15 fabricated Bumble profiles. The fake Bumble profiles randomly contained politically charged or politically neutral statements in the basic info section. Political affiliation of the participant was measured using a sliding scale that quantifies the unidimensional conservative-liberal spectrum on a 0-100 numerical scale. Findings of the survey show that there was no significant difference between participant preference towards politically charged vs. politically neutral mock profiles.