Tinder: The Impact of Technology and Communication on Relationships

This study examines the effect of technology and communication on relationships through the popular dating app Tinder. It explores the positive and negative impacts on society, personal identity, and community. The use of Tinder has transformed the way people interact and form relationships, but it also has its drawbacks such as cyber-bullying and addiction. Overall, Tinder has had a significant impact on society and individuals.

Running head: TINDER THE DATING APP
TINDER THE DATING APP
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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People’s lifestyle has been altered by technology and it is continuously making
changes too. It can even be said that there is no aspect is there in someone’s life that has not
been touched by technology. However, there is one area, where the technology has created a
significantly grave effect which is in communication. Communication is basically the
exchange of feeling, ideas and information, which helps the majority of the people getting
news from all sides. The technologies in communication have made it so simple to
communicate with friends and family by calling, emailing them and by also using the social
networking platforms. In addition, the new technologies such as the internet and television,
help people to get information easier and quicker. The social media like the dating apps
allow the users to get to know others even before their meet up. The users are given
copiousness choices to find suitable partner. Naturally, the technology has had great positive
impact but some negative results also exist there. The purpose of this study is to explain the
effect of technology and communication in human’s lives, change in people’s interaction and
affection on their community and sense of identity. One of the most popular social
networking sites, Tinder, has been chosen for this study.
Tinder is a location based dating app, and it can be clearly said that Tinder is the most
popular dating app .People with any age can use Tinder as there is no age limit but, people
who are looking for a suitable life partner tinder is especially for them. The users of Tinder
are like others by swiping right or dislike by swiping left. Information is available to users,
based on Facebook pictures, a small bio written by self, and each individual linked Spotify or
Instagram accounts optionally. Tinder was developed in 2012 by Hatch Labs and very soon
within 2014 one billion swipes a day was registered. There have also been verified profiles
for public figures on Tinder. As the famous and rich people are also looking for matches but
there are so many fake accounts named as same as the celebrities with their photos, and for
that Tinder decided to launch verified accounts. It brings new technology to dating. It’s free

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and can limit searches to one certain radius. The users can meet new people or their perfect
partner by using the new swiping technology via Tinder. Chatting is only available to the
users when both have liked (swipe right) photos of one another. It has injected a little fun into
dating scene. Many of the users have found perfect life partners for them by using this app.
Tinder is using new technologies to make itself more reliable to the users. JavaScript,
HTML5 and Python are used as programming languages, and for building and testing the app
AWS is being used. For the identification of user location it utilizes the GPS of smartphones.
From the first day of its existence, Tinder is has used Mongo Database and Redis as a
scalable environment of database. A new technology called Mapbox, which is an open source
platform, is used to design the custom maps, and for transaction or data safety GoDaddy SSL
certificates are being used. Also the developers are working on AI and machine learning to
make it more useful. Tinder is also testing one new feature for women specially to control
receiving or sending their first message to one matched person, so that women can filter, with
whom she will start a conversation as they can receive a lot of annoying messages from some
other members.
Advancements in tinder are intended to bring people together and the tinder has been
one of the widely used tools to connect with other people. It is a big platform that has
changed the way people interact with each other. It has transformed society with a great
impact which cannot be denied. The effect of tinder has a mix of both positive and negative.
Even though there have been many social media platforms Tinder is one of the most popular
platforms in the whole world. It has had an immense effect on society. It has given the
society a voice, and it has enabled people to further their reach and encouraged people to be
more creative and made them more innovative in expressing themselves. The tinder have
made the youth more independent and given them confidence to explore different things
(Ethan Kross, et al.). However, Tinder have also impacted the lives of people in a negative

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manner as well. The adverse effects of Tinder have been seen in the society, including
depression as well as envy in people’s subconscious minds. Bullying is a disgraceful act that
has been done face-to-face, but with advancement in the communication technology along
with the increased popularity of social media, Tinder has been become a popular platform for
cyber-bullying (Blackhart, Fitzpatrick and Williamson), which leaves a deep mental wound
in the subconscious of the person. It has caused a general addiction along with unhealthy
sleep patterns for the individuals making them vulnerable to various diseases. Fear of Missing
Out is one of the common phenomena that has started along with the popularity of Tinder. It
is a common form of anxiety that have been found in people where the individual is anxious
about missing out on positive experiences. Thus Tinder, being one of the most popular social
media sites in the whole world has encouraged the interaction of various people along with
improving the way of social interactions. However, it is also causing various negative
impacts including unhealthy and insecure societal behavior.
The adoption of the technologies has changed how people converse and connect with
others. Probably people are spending more time in digital dating than the physical
environments (March et al).Technology is changing the relationships between friends too.
Relationships and dating have been changed by Tinder in several ways. It has not changed
drastically the things women look for in a man or vice-versa but Tinder has made dating
easier for the people who are shy and cannot easily interact with the opposite sex (Sumter,
Vandenbosch and Ligtenberg). At present, people are just too depending on Tinder (March,
Grieve, Marrington and Jonason). The way people form a relationship has been totally altered
by Tinder. A generation ago, people met their life partners in the real world, through friends
and work, but nowadays people can find their life partners only by swiping right on the
Tinder app. Tinder is also very useful for homosexual couples there is not much respect for
homosexual people they are neglected in society. But with the help of tinder they can also

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find the right person for them and also maintain their privacy. Also, people can meet the
person who seems to be perfect for them, and after getting to know each other well, they can
make decision about the biggest step of life. Tinder makes it so much easier for its users. On
the other hand, people are getting into multiple relationships as there are too many option for
choosing partners, which is a very bad thing for the society. Also so many fake accounts are
available there. Some people are making traps so they can engage in sexual interactions with
others to fulfill their fantasies. Most of the teenagers are addicted of tinder so, underage
sexting is increasing (Sumter, Vandenbosch, Ligtenberg). Also depression among people is
also increasing for not getting the one whom they love (Sumter, Vandenbosch, Ligtenberg).
Although there is chance of personal information leakage due to attacks from hackers, as
every time Tinder cannot protect privacy or personal information. Based on people’s
appearance, Tinder uses make quick choices, which can be dangerous because most of the
people available in the internet is not genuine all time the number of fake people is so high.
As people are getting into the relationships via digital matching, there is no guarantee that the
relation will last long. Though some people are finding their soul mate and that too in a long
term relationship.
The tinder is a powerful extension of very advanced communication technology,
which has been impacting people’s personal identity along with affecting the community.
Identity can be built using two perspectives, one being the awareness about self-identity and
another being the observations of the surroundings. The connectivity with the world has been
a big step, but along with that it is influencing people to compare themselves with others in
Tinder which has impacted in demeaning the self-identity. The scrolling on the social media
and Tinder have impacted self-identity significantly by distorting the self-awareness. One of
the key influences that it is having on identity is that it enables individuals to validate self-
identity through what online personality the individual is having along with affecting the

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relationships. Tinder also encourages influencing the relationship in the online platform but
the longevity of those particular relationships is questionable for people (Sumter,
Vandenbosch and Ligtenberg). According to the author it has also impacted the intimacy of
the relationships as there is still an existing gap in communicating face-to-face and
communicating in the online platform. Tinder has an effect on influencing the community
and brings a sense of togetherness by forming groups and social forums to interact with
people. However, there have been adverse effects of the social media in the community.
Tinder has turned into an addiction which is resulting in reducing the productivity levels of
the people (Ranzini and Lutz). It was also seen that there is an effect of using Tinder in the
lifestyle of the people and has impacted the subconscious minds of people. There has been
significant influence by Tinder as a social media platform in transforming the sense of
identity among individuals along with it has impacted the community in building along with-
it adverse effects like encouraging depression and bringing down productivity by affecting
the psychological health. Thus it can be seen that there have been that advancements in the
communication technology that have resulted in both the ways as Tinder as a social media
platform is having its benefits as well as its negative effects on the individual and the
community as well.
Thus, it can be concluded that tinder has been made simpler than ever before. Most of
the people and mainly the teenagers are addicted onto tinder. People are more interactive with
the social media friends instead of their family and real-life friends. Although it’s a fact that
the people considered as friends on Tinder, tinder or on other social networks, may not
identify one another on street. People of any age and all abilities are able to use and can take
benefits from using tinder. Though this technology has some disadvantages, there are some
good effects of it too, and sometimes it is so useful in everyday life. Without tinder some
people cannot even think about their lives nowadays. The people are likely to be more

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impolite to social media friends or rude to others. The tinder has come long way, but unless
the interaction among human is re-established.

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References
Blackhart, G., Fitzpatrick, J. and Williamson, J. (2014). Dispositional factors predicting use
of online dating sites and behaviors related to online dating. Computers in Human Behavior,
33, pp.113-118.Cocalis, Rachel. “Online Dating Safety: The Shortcomings of State Law
Reform.” Family & Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly, vol. 8, no. 3, Winter 2016, pp. 211–
215. EBSCOhost,ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/loginurl=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx ?
direct=true&db=i3h&AN=117060740&site=eds-live&scope=site. This article talks about the
safety related to the online dating like intimate partner abuse. F
Kross, Ethan et al. "Facebook Use Predicts Declines In Subjective Well-Being In Young
Adults." PLoS ONE 8.8 (2013): e69841. Web. 11 Apr. 2019.
Hjorth, Larissa, et al. “Love at First Swipe? Explaining Tinder Self-Presentation and
Motives.” Mobile Media & Communication, vol. 5, no. 1, Jan. 2017, p. 80. EBSCOhost,
ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru
e&db=edo&AN=ejs42117232&site=eds-live&scope=site.An article explains the factors
which are using by individuals to presents themselves and their personality characteristics.
March, Evita et al. "Trolling On Tinder® (And Other Dating Apps): Examining The Role Of
The Dark Tetrad And Impulsivity." Personality and Individual Differences 110 (2017): 139-
143. Web. 11 Apr. 2019.
March, Evita et al. "Trolling On Tinder® (And Other Dating Apps): Examining The Role Of
The Dark Tetrad And Impulsivity." Personality and Individual Differences 110 (2017): 139-
143. Web. 11 Apr. 2019.This article discusses the difference between women and men
priorities( facial attractiveness or ambition)while checking a profile or accepting the requests.

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Sumter, Sindy R., et al. “Love Me Tinder: Untangling Emerging Adults’ Motivations for
Using the Dating Application Tinder.” Telematics & Informatics, vol. 34, no. 1, Feb.
2017,p.67.EBSCOhost,ezproxy.okanagan.bc.ca/login
url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=117441009&
site=eds-live&scope=site.This published paper speaks about the reasons why the use of tinder
is emerging in adults.