“Why are you on Tinder if this isn’t what you wanted?” Dating apps as digital brokers of sexual activity in the college hookup sexual market

Abstract

Scholars have argued that college hookup culture is facilitated by the unique physical and social context of college campuses and that young adults are increasingly using dating apps to initiate hookups. This has inspired calls for researchers to examine the digital interactions that precede face-to-face hookups. In this study, we used a “sexual market” framework to investigate the processes by which college hookups are “digitally brokered” via dating apps. Using data from focus groups conducted with 49 college students representing diverse sexual identities, we analyzed dating app users’ stories of their transitions from digital interactions to face-to-face meetups with matches. Participants discussed three types of consent that matches attempt to digitally broker: app-implied consent, colloquial consent, and (re)negotiated consent. We discuss problems that arise when users attempt to redeem these forms of digitally brokered consent during face-to-face meetups and make recommendations for sexual assault prevention efforts.