Humanosity says…Online dating has become the main way singletons find love and partners in most western societies. The last decade has seen internet dating go from being an embarrassing technical novelty to become mainstream. This article from the Guardian wonders if we have reached peak Tinder and if so are witnessing the return of the matchmaker?
Tinder took the dating scene by storm and since its launch in 2012, it has seen over 1 billion swipes a day. Apps like Bumble, Match.Com have all carved out substantial user bases and many boast about the number of marriages that have resulted from users of the sites. Although none of them draws attention to the number of assaults, rapes and murders that have happened to some of their more unfortunate users.
A study, published recently in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, found that heavy use often led to negative feelings, especially for those who had low self-esteem.
In fact, swipe fatigue has prompted some daters to try an analogue approach. A few years ago visiting a matchmaker would have seemed outdated. In 2019, the industry is thriving again.
Gone is matchmaking’s fusty image, replaced with Instagram-worthy, blush-pink branding and a far more inclusive ethos.
Undergraduate students in the US who were worried about their marital chances and looking for an app free alternative have come up with The Marriage Pact Project.
The Marriage Pact project, initially created at Stanford and being rolled out to other universities including Oxford, seeks to provide a “marital backup plan” for students, with couples paired off via a questionnaire and algorithm. With one participant gloomily noting on Facebook that her Marriage Pact partner hadn’t even responded to a friend request, the service may not provide a smooth path to everlasting love, either. But with nearly 5,000 students signing up in Stanford alone, it does indicate that even carefree, digital-first young people are concerned about their online prospects and want an app-free alternative.
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