Mobile dating: Romance is just a swipe away Tinders’ Romantic and sexual interactions

Abstract

It has become reality that relationships formed in cyberspace are actualized in the flesh. Due to the popular mobile dating app Tinder, the negative stigma of online dating seems to be gone. The app is bringing the geographical and physical attraction element back into online dating, reducing the stigma of online dating. The focus is on answering this question: How does physical and social nearness in Tinder shape romantic and sexual interactions? First the novelty of Tinder in the discourse of online dating is described. Secondly, the phenomenon of online dating was analysed through a theoretical framework of physical and social ‘nearness’. Next, an empirical and textual analysis of the affordances of the app is presented to show which elements of the app shape the romantic and sexual relationships and how. The MDA-Framework was used to identify and explain elements of physical and social nearness present in the Tinder app. As the social use of Tinder and the nature its interactions were still quite unclear, a discourse analysis was necessary. Through this exploring analysis, this paper tries to provide insight into the elements that caused a new dimension in the discourse of online dating. Combining the results both analysis, it can be concluded that Tinder optimally uses elements to create high levels of both physical and social nearness. The elements of proximity and mobility lead to serendipitious meet-ups. Physical proximity is important for the probability of these encounters. By only allowing mutually interested users to communicate, interactions are more likely to evolve into real-life interactions. Furthermore, the nature of these online interactions is shaped by the easy-to-use and visual interface of Tinder. Because the app is playful, fast and focused on physical attraction, the interactions tend to unfold the same according to most widely accessible media. This research also shows that the popularity of Tinder can be attributed to its focus on its elements of nearness, resembling the real-life experience. It can be argued that with these elements, Tinder is able to come closer to the basic human desires than other online dating platforms. The app has therefore created a new dimension in the discourse of online dating, reducing its negative stigma and becoming interesting to a new, broader and younger audience.