Oh dear: the more Tinder, the less love
I found that in recent years, romance has plummeted to a low point in the Netherlands, and the rise of dating apps hasn't really helped. Yes, I put dating in quotes because honestly: what percentage of users actually use Tinder, Happn, or Grindr to score a real date or relationship? I dare say that percentage is particularly low. About 10%? Seems like an interesting little study.
Well, unfortunately, there hasn't been any research done on that (yet?), but scientists agree on one thing: the more dating apps there are, the less love there is. More swiping, fewer matches. A number of scientists from Tilburg University discovered this. They monitored the Tinder behavior (so Happn gets a bit of a free pass in this piece — but it's really more of the same) of a thousand people for a while. And it turned out that the more people swipe, the more they swipe left.
What turns out: all that swiping makes us quite picky. It's something, isn't it, sitting on your bench judging all those people who pass by on your account. Apparently, it's a bit in us that the more people pass by digitally, the more demanding we become. While we don't even know if the person whose photo we are judging even sees us. In fact, they don't even know they are being spied on at that moment. I find it a bit of an unjust form of pickiness.
Another thing that Tilburg University has established is that the number of singles in the Netherlands continues to grow (it's also difficult to find a partner when we all become so picky). They genuinely suspect that there is a connection between this demanding Tinder use and the growing number of singles. This will likely be their next study.
Now, I don't know if this university is the right one when it comes to dating, because they also come up with some advice. ‘It's wise to be selective while tindering and to occasionally take breaks. Tinder in moderation and tinder consciously.’ Well, you hear it, guys: take a break from that left swiping. Or try swiping right occasionally.
