"Dating apps are designed in a way that encourages fast decisions. People tend to look at profiles for less than a second before deciding whether to swipe right or left 1. The features of swipe-based dating apps, like Tinder, function like game-play mechanics. Evaluating profiles can feel rewarding, particularly when the endless swiping is interrupted by a notification that you have successfully formed a match 2."
"These features can turn online dating into a game where we focus on the act of swiping rather than on meeting people and building meaningful connections. We may imagine that an idealised potential partner is just one swipe away, which ensures that we keep making many fast decisions. This can lead us to feel disappointed with the profiles we see or the matches we form."
Online dating platforms offer far more potential partners than humans evolved to evaluate, creating overwhelm. Swipe-based designs prompt users to make decisions in under a second and reward matches with notifications, turning browsing into game-like behavior. This emphasis on quantity and quick appraisal shifts attention from meeting people to performing actions, fostering expectations that a perfect match is just one swipe away. Rapid choices lead brains to use heuristics that focus on surface-level cues like appearance or language errors, which inflates perceived pickiness. Pausing, reflecting, and taking breaks can reduce superficial rejections and help users prioritize meaningful connections.
Read at Psychology Today
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