Tinder and Grindr: a digital sexual revolution. Heterosexual and male homosexual stereotypes in mobile dating apps.

Abstract

Tinder and Grindr are two popular location-based mobile dating apps aimed at the heterosexual and male homosexual communities, respectively. This research focuses on stereotypes in mobile dating apps and aims to answer the following research question: how normative assumptions about the heterosexual and male homosexual communities can be embedded in the affordances of Grindr and Tinder. Little research has focused on Grindr and Tinder as applications that include assumptions about their target community. In order to explore stereotypes and prejudices linked to the communities built in the affordances of the apps, an affordance analysis has been applied, with a specific focus on affordances that might be specifically related to assumptions about those groups. It has been considered that the affordances are found in the context between the actor and the object, therefore, subject to the environment in which they are analyzed. The following affordances have been analyzed in this thesis: authenticity and anonymity; proximity; immediacy; communication flow; locatability; community identification; accessibility, availability and portability; multimediality, little effort and playfulness; shallowness; legitimacy; homogenization. The results show that assumptions linked to both communities may be re-enforced by some of the affordances that have been analyzed. Promiscuity, sexually driven relationships, hyper-sexualized and impersonal behavior, little diversity in the community, and high value on casual sex are stereotypes linked to the male homosexual community. Perpetuation of traditional gender-roles, romantic approach in dating leading to marriage, and narcissism are stereotypes associated with the heterosexual community.