Is Tinder really a hookup App?

For those who don’t know what Tinder is, it is simply a free mobile dating app which uses the location-based system to match you with other singles around you (especially people in your area). Without a doubt, Tinder is leading dating app in the United States right now and with over 10 million active users on a daily basis. But, one’s main thing for coming up with this article is not to ponder on what Tinder is and how popular it is, rather, this piece hopes answer the question many people have been asking if Tinder is really good alternative to hookup dating sites.

Its main purpose.

To understand the whole idea behind the App, the main purpose must be understood. When it was launched in 2012, the main purpose was to match up singles who were looking for casual relationships. Even though many users are looking for serious relationships including marriage, studies recently showed that about 50% of men visit Tinder to facilitate one-night stands compared to women who are about 15%.

Another study which was published by Leah LeFebvre surveyed about 400 personalities (in age from 20 to 30) who all used Tinder with their ages ranging from 18 – 34. The study was more about asking all of them open-ended questions to find out why they were all using Tinder. To make it more detailed, the answer provided by these young adults were placed in categories. The results of the study showed that:

1. 48% of these users were all motivated by Tinder’s popularity coupled with media and peers.

2. The desire for a relationship was what motivated 8.9% of the users.

3. Meanwhile, the apps interface and its visual appeal were what motivated 14.7% of the users.

4. Social activity or using it in the form of a game was the reason given by 3% of the users.

5. Hooking up was about 5.1% of the total users.

6. 4.1% of the users talked about its convenience.

7. Lastly, 7.9% of the users said they join simply because they were curious and interested.

Source: Lefebvre (2017).

How it works.

As a user, you get to fill out a brief bio and upload your pictures. These pictures are then viewed by other users who match your age, location and gender criteria. If you are interested in a user, you will have to swipe right to like, and swipe left to ignore. As a user, you will then be notified of any match. The “match” happens when both of you swipe right on each other’s profiles. What that simply means is that you can get tons of singles without much stress and then decide if you are interested in any of them or not, all by either swiping right or left.

Verdict

So as not to lose sight of why we came up with this post. Is Tinder really a hookup app? The answer is to that is not far-fetched. We all agree that Tinder is a platform that helps to initiate hookups, but to think that its main purpose is for hookups is widely overstated. One can also say that most of the users on Tinder are there not just for sex but for relationships amongst other things.