Online dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble have been on the rise ever snice their introduction in 2012 and 2014. Tinder has been available since 2012 and is popular with people of all ages, especially young adults and college students.
According to the Economist, the number of couples meeting online is rising more than any other means. In particular, same sex couples are majorily meeting online these days.
A reason online dating has become so popular in the 2000’s is due to our tech driven society. Everyone has a smartphone and spends hours on their devices every day. According to MarketWatch, adults spend an average of 11 hours on their devices daily.
Although online dating is on the rise, we are unsure how much Tinder and Bumble account for this increase. There are many other dating apps and websites such as Match.com, Zoosk, and Happn that contribute to the rise in online daters. Bloomsburg students Nick Gioioso and Julia Nelson both believe Tinder is an app used for “hook-ups.”
Nick used to use Tinder but stopped. His reason for stopping is that “there were too many fat chicks on it and he found that it was just for hook ups.” I have found that there is some credibility to what Nick says. Many girls and guys will frame their pictures in a manner to make themselves look better. With all of the picture editing technology that comes with social media, it is easy for someone to alter their appearance.
Nick, as well as many others, believe that “Tinder and Bumble are viable options for more introverted people.” Any guy who has trouble approaching women, or anyone in general, will most likely appreciate Tinder and Bumble. It’s a platform where you can curate your own profile and say whatever you want about yourself. It’s a good conversation starter that can lead to something more, but hopefully you are honest with your profile. Nobody likes a catfish.
Julia doesn’t use Tinder for the same reasons as Nick, she thinks it’s for hookups. Julia does use Bumble though. When you match with someone on Bumble, the girl has to message the guy first. Julia thinks that this is good because if she matches with someone she doesn’t like, she can just ignore him.
Bumble has an option for meeting friends as well. It is the diverse options that Bumble offers that makes it more desirable than Tinder. Many users including Julia believe that Bumble can lead to actual relationships and friendships rather than one-night stands.
There is also a questionnaire that Bumble offers when creating your profile. It asks questions like “how often do you drink, what is your zodiac sign, what kind of relationship are you looking for, do you smoke,” etc. This is used to help give users a more accurate measurement of if they’re compatible or not.
In a survey given out on social media, we asked students six basic questions to see what the general consensus on dating apps were. 85% of students believe that Tinder is more of a “hook-up” app while only 57% thought that Bumble was. In addition, 71% of students know someone who has gotten into a relationship using an online dating site or app.
Lastly, we asked if anyone would admit to meeting a significant other online. About 60% said yes but there were still a fair amount of participants who would not disclose this information. One student responded “[I would tell] my friends because it’s normal for us to meet people that way, but probably not my family”.
Online dating in general has become the norm in today’s society. I think the main reason is everyone’s excessive use of social media. Many people derive their self-worth from virtual likes and comments on their Instagram and Facebook.
According to Sean Parker, founding President of Facebook, “Facebook has found a vulnerability in human psychology…we give you a little dopamine hit.”
Parker is referring to the addiction we have with our profiles and pictures being “liked.” I believe the same philosophy can be applied to the use of online dating apps, in that we get a dopamine rush after matching with someone attractive.
