Relationships
Are you addicted to dating apps? The chances are high
Photography, Lara Chouette, Unsplash.com
Relationships
Are you addicted to dating apps? The chances are high
Have you ever found yourself compulsively swiping on a dating app for what seems like hours?
Well, you wouldn’t be the only one.
According to a study conducted by Match, one in six singles say they’re addicted to the process of looking for a date, and this ratio is even higher in younger generations. The same study claims that millennials are 125% more likely to get addicted to dating apps than older generations, with men being 97% more susceptible. Women tend to get more burned out by the process (54%).
It’s tough to figure out whether or not you have chemistry with someone you’ve only met via text, and it’s even more disappointing when that match doesn’t pan out in real life. And yet, people keep coming back and swiping for more.
The Addiction To Dating Apps, Explained
According to David Greenfield, founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, dating apps are like “slot machines” for our brains. They offer the possibility of something good and give you positive reinforcement to keep swiping; a hit of dopamine whenever you get a good match, encouraging you to keep swiping for hours on end.
Photography, Kelly Sikkema, Unsplash.com
If you’re feeling frustrated by the process, you’re not alone. A recent class action lawsuit, ironically filed on February 14, against the Match Group (the company that owns Hinge, Tinder and The League) claims that the apps are deliberately designed to foster addiction through gamification tools such as paywalls, with profits being top priority instead of love.
According to the plantiffs, these apps use “powerful technologies and hidden algorithms'' to keep users hooked. On the other side of the lawsuit, Match called these claims "ridiculous” and assured that their primary goal is to get their users on date and off their apps.
With the increasing role social media and technology play in our lives, it’s normal to resort to apps to meet new people, especially when our friends get into relationships with someone they met online. The faint hope that the love of our lives is hiding behind the next swipe is always there, and there’s nothing wrong with that一just as long as we know when to sign off.
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