Tan, Hsiao Fen (2023) Swipe Right: Older Adults’ Experiences and Attitudes with Online Dating. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
As Australia’s ageing demographic grows, it is important to explore how older adults foster later-life romantic relationships because love and connection remain vital throughout one’s lifespan. The benefits of being in a relationship include buffering against loneliness and protecting against the negative physical and psychological consequences associated with loneliness and isolation. With older adults taking to online dating to seek romantic relationships, previous studies have largely examined the self-presentations, preferences, and associated risks of older adults on online dating platforms. Using a qualitative approach, this study aimed to explore the attitudes that older Australian adults hold toward online dating and how older adults approach romantic relationships in later life. Six participants (aged 61 – 76 years old) residing in Perth took part in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The data collected was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings showed that older Australian adults in this study were cognizant of the positive and negative aspects of online dating. Moreover, they preferred a slow approach to fostering later-life romantic relationships. Older adults preferred not to cohabitate or be married to mitigate their desires for independence, personal space, and the perceptions of their adult children. Giddens’ Pure Relationship Theory (1992) and Ross’ Social Attachment Continuum (1995) formed the theoretical frameworks to understand older adults' online romantic relationships. Finally, the findings were used to inform recommendations for the online dating industry to make their websites a more “age-friendly” community for older adults to socialize and seek romantic partners.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Wellbeing (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Sonya Winterbotham |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Aug 2025 01:17 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Aug 2025 01:17 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | older adults, later-life romantic relationships, online dating, reflexive thematic analysis |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52807 |
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