You're Not Imagining It!
26,000 people. 23 studies. 17 years of research.
A new meta-analysis (Sharabi et al., 2026) confirmed what many singles already know: Dating apps make them feel worse, not better. Across nearly two decades of data, app users consistently reported more depression, anxiety, and loneliness than people who weren't using them.
The instinct, hearing this, is to delete everything.
And for some people, that's the right decision. But for singles over 40 — especially newly single after divorce or a long relationship — the math doesn't lie. Apps remain one of the highest-volume ways to meet new people. Quitting them entirely can make dating harder.
The solution: Change how you use them:
Time-boxing the swiping. Moving promising conversations off the app and into real life quickly. Treating the app as one tool, not your only one. Knowing when to step back.
If the apps have been wearing you down — you're not imagining it, and there's nothing wrong with you. You're having a documented response to the apps, and this experience and response is shared by tens of thousands of other people.
If this resonates, the link in my bio is a complimentary 30-minute consult. No pitch — just a conversation on how to date better.
— Ellen
Source: Sharabi, L. L., Ou, L., Von Feldt, P. A., & Parsons, T. D. (2026). Computers in Human Behavior, 177, 108879.