How Dating Apps Have Changed Romance and Love
Your soulmate is only a click away… or is it?
“Internet dating has made people more disposable.”
– Mark Brooks, former marketing consultant at MeetMe, Dating Factory and PlentyOfFish.
The 21st century marks the advent of online dating which has become the hallmark of finding your soulmate who is only a right swipe away. Gone are the days of handwritten love letters or secret notes passing in the library. Now, it is all about instant messaging and video calls. Technology has spoiled us when it comes to forming long-term relationships.
When it comes to casual dating and open relations, online dating can be your savior. Online dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, OK Cupid, Hinge, and others have started the trend of ‘hookup culture’ and have quite obnoxiously taken the fun and excitement out of dating. One can argue that these algorithm-based dating apps have turned dating into a game.
Study shows that women get a 43% higher number of right swipes than men, highlighting a significant gender disparity in these apps. Each notification of a match or a text from someone is a dopamine shot- a feeling of euphoria, a flickering moment of joy only to quickly die down until the next swipe. The dating apps are addictive and keep their users ‘hooked’ to the screen while providing little substance.
Imagine yourself fishing in a sea full of different types of fish, won’t you be tempted to capture more than one kind of fish? ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ and ‘You Live Only Once’ are the two major psychoses that these billion-dollar industries capitalize off. Amidst swiping right, diligent texting and even ghosting hundreds of people, will you ever be able to master the art of commitment? Did you know that Tinder records 300 billion swipes per day but is ‘swiping right’ all day helping you to find ‘the one? Regardless of whether you answer in affirmative or not, no one can deny the changing portrait of love in the advent of technology in the 21st century. Here are some ways dating apps are changing the way we perceive and feel love in these modern times.
Dating apps and pandemic
The outbreak of COVID-19 had played a major role in promulgating online dating. As people were isolated at home, online apps became their only means to socialize and cure boredom. Users of dating apps kept sky-rocketing as people sought connections amidst their isolation.
Tinder reported that 2020 was its busiest year yet. Hinge tripled its revenue from 2019 to 2020, and the company expects it to double from that in the upcoming years. Ok-Cupid also reported a 700% increase in dates. Bumble video call features usage had surged by 70% within a year.
Dating apps and the LGBTQIA+ community
Dating and finding a partner is often a struggle for the LGBTQ community due to homophobia which is unfortunately still plaguing our society. Hence, this is where dating apps come into play. Apps like Grindr (for gay men), HER (for lesbians), Bi-Cupid (for bisexual and pansexual people), Ace Dating (for asexual users), Thrust & Lex (for the queer community as a whole) shows the variety of people looking for potential partners online.
Online dating has also posed a major threat to users regarding cyber-bullying, sexual harassment, stalking, information and data leakage etc.
Dating apps and mental health
While apps allow for a much more diverse dating experience, some users have also complained about its detrimental effects on mental health such as an increasing feeling of anxiety, depression, loneliness.
“You can’t even go to a bar anymore, meet strangers that become friends or women who become lovers. You need the extra step of finding them through an app or bonding over an app which can be exasperating sometimes!”
— A.D. Aliwat
One survey shows that 49% of users with a pre-existing mood disorder are likely to report depressive symptoms triggered by online dating. Those who are more emotionally vulnerable and seeking external validation feel these impacts.
Research shows that online dating plays a significant role in exacerbating anorexia and body dysmorphia amongst young adults, as it places a lot of value on unrealistic beauty standards and visual aesthetics. A study found that Tinder users reported lower levels of self-esteem, focused on dissatisfaction with their physical looks and shame towards their body image. It also propagates the notion that matches are only made based upon physical attraction. This leads to self-judgment and social comparison, posing a threat to one’s self-confidence and self-image.
We all can agree that with the availability of multiple options comes a large amount of uncertainty. Dating apps have changed society in an almost irreversible way. For example, meeting someone isn’t a big part of your social life anymore. Online dating has not only disrupted the traditional ways of meeting romantic partners, but its rise also comes at a time when norms and behaviours around marriage and cohabitation are also changing as more people are opting out of marriages and choosing to live-in with their partner.
Dating apps are changing the notion of our social existence. People can now find partners and start dating them in minutes instead of courting them for weeks. It allows people to seek out partners easier than ever before and without wasting a lot of time, money, and energy. However, online dating has also made some aspects of dating much worse. The constant access to one another and the uncertainty that comes with anonymity have made dating much more difficult in other aspects.
It is impossible to bring up the good without the bad and vice versa. Dating apps are changing our society, but it’s up to the users to make the best use of them.
You were reading a Dais Editorial©2022