Dating in the Digital Age : A Research Experiment
In an attempt to shed light on the above questions , I used a fake Tinder profile and spent a total of 35 nonconsecutive days on the app . The psychological and emotional consequences of being on Tinder were both positive and negative , but most of my experiences , albeit fictional , were surprisingly unexpected , and thankfully , short-lived . Throughout the 35 days , I took notes in order to more specifically , although not precisely , track and summarize most of my interactions with the technology and the people within it .
Before I dive into discussing what I term as “ soft statistics ” of my time on Tinder , I must stress that I am not a professional statistician ; therefore , the numerical stats found within this article are estimated and based on various notes I took during my brief time on the app . More importantly , my Tinder experience should not be taken as reflective of the average user experience , as part of my goal was to the push the app ’ s boundaries to absurd levels in order to test the dynamics of the app ’ s design and its real-life applicability , particularly in relation to the intersection of human communication and technology . With that said , however , I do believe the stats below are profoundly indicative of a couple of key issues in today ’ s dating world .
First , a lack of depth . Tinder ’ s swiping design is inherently superficial , as it allows us to quickly judge others based solely on physical appearance and their geographical proximity ; hence , why Tinder has a reputation for being a hook-up app . Tinder ’ s design can act as an immediate reward system , much like a game , which is why there are those who have taken to using Tinder for humorous purposes only . If there is no “ match ” ( i . e . the reward of two people liking one another ), then the rejection may not feel real , since the rejection was mediated via technology and did not occur in person . In a large , tech savvy city like New York , the options can appear
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