How Much Time To Spend On Dating Apps
Online dating diminishing returns, how to use dating apps effectively. How much time to spend on dating apps each day, week. Healthy amount of time to spend online dating.
Reader Question: How much time should I spend on dating apps? How much time is too much? What is the minimum I need to spend online dating a day, week?
Related read: More reader questions answered
How Much Time To Spend On Dating Apps?
Dating apps feel like one of those necessary evils in today’s dating landscape. The stigma around using it with respect to embarrassment has largely faded, and what we have left is a large portion of people thinking it’s the only way to meet people in 2025.
Unfortunately, with things like COVID, WFH, the rising cost of living, shutdowns, and the growing trend of people relying on apps, phones, and technology to navigate their daily lives, people have started to regress socially and thus forgotten how to have organic conversations at bars, cafes, restaurants, events, and other offline activities.
People are meeting on dating apps more than ever, and given this growing, recent trend, people are fumbling around trying to figure out things like effort, etiquette, and expectations.
Just because apps are the way most people are meeting, these days don’t mean it’s the only way, the best way, or even the most efficient way to meet other single folks.
How Much Is A Healthy Amount Of Time To Spend Online Dating?
In the middle of COVID, it was not uncommon for folks to spend 1-2 hours a day on dating apps. One sort of had to as that was the only way, or safest way at least, to meet others amidst lock-downs, isolation, closings and more. That phase of life has largely passed, but the lasting effects of COVID are still here thanks to WFH, wealth gaps, cost of going out and comfort of staying indoors.
Using apps for a short window of time or even limited times over the course of days, weeks, months is perfectly fine but there are many people who use apps as their only or main outlet for meeting people.
Dating apps were never meant be used that much, they were never designed to be used to replace human interaction and spontaneity. Dating apps were designed to complement existing efforts and expand dating pools beyond existing routes, schedules and social circles.
What instead happened was people went overboard and started to rely on apps way too much, and it led to an unhealthy amount of time on screens, unrealistic expectations, and an inability to have spontaneous interactions and serendipitous moments. You also have people trying to make up for lost time dating during COVID and thus using boosts, paying for multiple apps, swiping right more and trying to carry more conversations at once more than ever.
This is not healthy nor sustainable.
How Much Time Is Too Much To Spend Online Dating?
If you are new to dating apps, it’s important to limit usage as it can be rather addicting. When you create a new dating profile, it gets lots of attention (artificial boosts to get you hooked).