Personal Burnout and Appearance Anxiety: A Comparative Study Among Dating App Users and Non-users

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between appearance anxiety and personal burnout among Indian dating app users and non-users, while also exploring the influence of gender. A sample of 121 Indian adults (M=23.07, SD=2.91; 58 females, 63 males) was recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Participants were divided into 60 dating app users and 61 non-users. Personal burnout was measured using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Personal Burnout subscale), and appearance anxiety was assessed using the Appearance Anxiety Inventory. Data was collected via online self-report questionnaires and analyzed using Jamovi software. Independent samples t-tests compared burnout and anxiety between groups, Pearson correlation examined the link between burnout and appearance anxiety among users, and two-way ANOVA assessed the effects of gender and dating app use. Results indicated that dating app users reported significantly higher personal burnout than non-users, though no difference was observed in appearance anxiety. Among dating app users, a positive correlation was found between personal burnout and appearance anxiety. Furthermore, females exhibited higher levels of personal burnout than males, but gender did not significantly impact appearance anxiety. This study concludes that dating app use is associated with elevated personal burnout, but not appearance anxiety, and highlights gender’s influence on burnout. These findings underscore the emotional toll online dating can have on individuals.