The Emergence of the Digital Culture and Liquid Love
The emergence of the digital culture has shaped our everyday lives in significant ways. With the modern technologies, people are able to connect, regardless of their locations, time zones and cultural backgrounds; as a result, forming an intimated relationship is easier than ever. The Tinder dating app is promoting liquid love by portraying human beings as consumer goods, of which the app users can "browse/swipe" and "choose" partners based on their desires. The mobile dating application Tinder has amplified "liquid love" by how online identities are represented in addition to generating considerable revenue for its developer and users.
Tinder's Functionality and Features
Tinder is a mobile dating application with millions of users across the globe. Tinder started as an online dating application, which utilizes location via GPS to connect its user to potential matches by proximity. For authenticity and security purposes, while creating a Tinder profile, a Facebook account is compulsory. Tinder profile usually consists of a user’s first and last name, user’s photos of choice and a short biography. In addition, a user can link other social media accounts such as Instagram or Spotify to Tinder his/her profile to further display the user’s interests. The more detailed and honest a profile appears to be, the higher the chance its user will match with another app user. Using the app Tinder is simple, swipe right to like a profile, or in the opposite way to express lack of interest. A "match", happens when two users liked (swiped right on) each other’s profile and after that one can start a conversation on Tinder. Consequently, a conversation would or would not lead to a relationship (of any kind), just like traditional dating ways. In contrast to conventional dating, there are two major benefits provided by Tinder: a shortcut pass the "getting-to-know-another-person" phase and an access to a wider circle of potential dates than whom the app user sees in his real life. Tinder is an easy to use dating app used by millions of users around the world.
The Impact of Tinder on Modern Dating
Tinder is an online dating app that has significantly revolutionized dating in the current digital world. As Tinder celebrates close to five years after it was launched, the app has considerably changed how single people meet and fall in love with their desired partners (Belton, 2018). With Tinder, one needs a smartphone or any other gadget with internet and from there you are free to choose a partner by browsing through photographs and profiles posted online. In addition, with Tinder, one can create a profile with his/her preferences and choose whom they want to be matched with on the site. This way, single people or anyone looking for love can connect and hook up with their peers and partners of choice from all over the globe. After matching with the profile of a partner of choice, one can start a conversation and if all goes well, then the two matches can arrange for a physical meeting. Tinder connects people not only in their social cycle but also with new people from all over the world (Marwick, 2013). In fact, Tinder has become a global phenomenon that has led to the appearance of new sexual identities and practices for young adults and any other person trying to find love on dating sites because the Tinder dating app has become a substitute or rather a replacement for real-life dating and forming relationships.
Tinder's Impact on Romance and Dating
The Tinder app has radically changed romance and dating thus taking dating on another level. Belton while reporting for the BBC news notes that "Tinder launched in 2012 on the back of the explosion in smartphone use, just two years later it was registering more than a billion "swipes" a day" (2018). The author gives an example of the blogger Jordan Brown who confesses of swiping and meeting her current boyfriend. Tinder has made it easier for the shy generation and those busy to meet people in person out there to interact with people online and form romantic relationships without any difficulties. Tinder is an app that has significantly changed the dating game in considerable ways. With so many options, one is able to swipe and find a potential mate or partner with the qualities one is looking for.
The Portrayal of Online Identities on Tinder
The Tinder dating app has changed the online landscape of dating by how people find love on the internet. With Tinder, one creates a profile and writes the qualities he/she wants to be read by the people swiping through the app. According to Claypoole and Payton, the internet has changed the ways in which relationships are developed and maintained (2016). On Tinder, people create profiles with the information they feel the world should about them, some even include their private info, and this information is accessed by anyone who has a profile on Tinder. Most of the pictures and profiles on Tinder are drawn from Facebook profiles wiping out the doubts of many fake profiles. With online dating apps, it is evident that a person’s data/information can be accessed and used by anyone who stumbles on his/her profile and this means that dating apps like Tinder can either make or damage a person’s life and relationship (Claypoole and Payton, 2016). This is because one creates a profile with his/her information and this info can be accessed and used by anyone to harm the user or to form a relationship with the Tinder user. Therefore, the way people portray their images and information on Tinder can either benefit them or even harm them as well.
Tinder's Influence on Modern Dating Experiences
Tinder has changed the dating landscape in several ways because now, people do not have to visit social places to meet new people and hook up with them. With Tinder, one can find a perfect date/partner by just creating an account and swiping left and right to find a partner of choice. According to Bauman, the Tinder app has facilitated "liquid love" by digitally transforming the modern search for sex, relationships, intimacy, and love (2003). Dating apps offer distinct experiences compared to those provided in real life and by dating websites. Tinder allows users to engage online whereby they can first trust each other before making a step to meet in person. According to Hobbs, Owen, and Gerber, technological change has led to online dating and this has transformed the modern courtship as it has tremendously influenced people’s views on relationships, romantic ideals, and sexual practices. The authors further note that Tinder has provided a platform whereby young people can broaden their intimate horizons (2017). Tinder has given users an option of self-branding as they market themselves on the app to get their desirable matches. In fact, the online dating app Tinder has led to the rise of new kinds of sexual identities and practices among young people and young adults looking for love. Overall, the Tinder app has significantly changed how people date, the courtship process, and sexual behavior thus transforming intimacy and modern relationships.
The Popularity and Psychological Impacts of Tinder
Sumter, Vandenbosch, and Ligtenberg note that the Tinder dating app has become very popular among young adults as they use it to find love, casual sex, excitement, trendiness, and just as a means of communication (2017). The Tinder App has made it easy for young people to find many friends and better-suited matches with different qualities that they could not find in real life. Tinder has been of great help to people with low self-esteem and those shy to socialize with people they meet face to face. These people find it easy to use the Tinder dating app for sexual hook-ups, love, socialization, excitement, and self-worth validation (2017). The Tinder app has led to new kinds of sexual identities and practices such as hook-up casual sex where there are no strings attached to the individuals. Therefore, with the introduction of Tinder, many people have been able to find their desired partners despite some having self-esteem problems because it is a free app where people first meet online, share ideas, and arrange to meet in person for friendships and relationships. The Tinder dating app offers an ease of communication and excitement when the matches meet offline (Ranzini & Lutz, 2017). Therefore, Tinder has changed the modern dating experiences in regards to forming relationships, maintaining the relationships and the way people view relationships and sex.
The Vulnerability of Online Dating Apps and the Economic Impact of Tinder
As much as Tinder has transformed intimacy and modern relationships, the information shared online can cause people to lose their jobs, lose their clients, lose existing friends, and even family just the same way dating apps like Tinder can either make one find friends and even a relationship or encounter one or all of the mentioned the above (Freeman, 2016). Tinder has become a popular dating app where people find love and form relationships. However, we should note that despite its social impacts, Tinder can destroy relationships, marriages, and even cause some people to lose their jobs and even clients with the information they post on their profiles (March et al., 2017).
The Effects of Online Dating Apps on Self-Esteem and Mental Health
According to Marateck, online dating apps like Tinder can be very harmful to users (2018). Online dating apps can hurt an individual’s self-esteem and lead to depression because the other users can access and use the information an individual has on his/her profile to harm him/her in one way or the other (Reed, 2014). It is evident that some opt to use online dating apps like Tinder to find love and friends due to low self-esteem. Moreover, they will create the best profiles just to become relevant and to boost their self-confidence (Marateck, 2018). However, even though this works for some, others are left deeply hurt and their self-esteem ultimately harmed by some of the users online. We should note that not everyone who creates a profile on Tinder or any other dating site is there for love or to find friends, some are just there to bully and hurt others. Ellison, Heino, and Gibbs note that some online users exaggerate their profiles and are deceptive in nature (2006). Therefore, dating apps like Tinder can hurt an individual’s self-esteem leading to depression due to unrealistic expectations that were not met. Some people join dating apps with the hope of boosting their self-confidence since some of them are facing rejections while others join to meet friends and even to find love. However, a majority of them end up facing a more painful blow of being rejected both offline and online thus causing more harm to their self-esteem.
Tinder's Economic Impact
Apart from the social impacts, Tinder also has economic impacts to the users and the developer. Tinder’s mobile application commercial success is apparent to the developer and the users. With the introduction of Tinder Plus, users are offered premium services whereby they do in-app marketing thus earning. The mobile dating app offers investors a platform whereby they can market their products and sell them to other users thus making profits while also finding love online. In addition, Tinder has made it easier to meet new people without having to spend a lot of money to go find them. It is with no doubt that Tinder has revolutionized the dating game without having physical contact. There is no need to spend money and time to travel and meet a match or a friend. All that is needed is to create a profile, fill in your information, swipe to find matches, ask them about their lives and what they like and start a relationship or friendship. With Tinder, meeting new people is easy. Gone are the days when one had to walk in the park or open places or even travel to meet friends or a life partner.
The Balance of Privacy and Social Interaction on Tinder
It is clear that Tinder is the best online dating app and as much as it cannot be hailed as a dating tool that will sustain all the challenges of online dating app, Tinder has challenged several perceptions on online dating. Tinder is an online dating app whereby people create profiles to share information about their private lives and preferences in order to get friends and partners. However, it is this same sharing of information that can either help an individual to find friends and intimacy or destroy a person’s life in the name of looking for love and intimacy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the digital culture like the introduction of dating apps like Tinder has changed the dating game in significant ways. In fact, Tinder has tremendously changed the face of modern-day dating in this age of fast growing technology use. Billions of applications have hit the market revolutionizing dating with Tinder being among them as an omnipresent app in our mobile devices. Although there have been many online dating websites and even mobile dating sites and despite being popular, a good number of them have become obsolete. The young millennial now prefer stand-alone mobile dating applications like Tinder where they create profiles, swipe, and find partners of their choice. Tinder has revolutionized the modern day dating by changing how people look for and find love in addition to bringing economic gains to the developer.
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