The Huffington Post reported that the average Tinder user spends 77 minutes on the app each day. Tinder is a dating app that lets users see multiple people’s profiles that are in the area. What differentiates Tinder from other apps is its fast pace. If you are interested in the person’s profile you swipe right, if not, simply swipe left. If two people swipe right, then they are matched and can begin to chat via Tinder’s personal chat function.
What’s the problem with this? Clearly, there is a big problem if Tinder users are spending over an hour a day on the app. Due to the fact most of the Tinder users are predominately in high school or in some form of higher education, it speaks volumes about our generation and culture.
It seems as though the days of meeting someone and holding a face-to-face conversation are slowly but surely becoming something of the past. Why would young adults want to do that if they can just swipe left or right until they find someone they are most attracted to?
While some may see it as something entertaining to do on their downtime, Tinder, as well as other social media apps, are hindering our ability to communicate well and even shortening our attention spans.
Nadira Jackson FCLC ‘15, a communication and media studies major, explained, “We are hiding behind technology and social media. No one is really able to hold a solid conversation. It is a serious problem. Those 77 minutes can be used to socialize with people and make real connections. We need to be able to interact with others not only for our personal relationships, but for our professional careers as well.”
All in all, Generation Y may be tech savvy, but the question is, are we going to let technology take over our everyday lives and not be able to think for ourselves?
Tinder is a decent idea in theory. Choices are limitless. Connections can be made quickly. But, what about the scary notion of you eventually having to sit across from that person you are interested in at a dinner table? Will you be able to keep the interest of the person sitting across from you? Or will you be on your phone and scrolling through Tinder, attempting to find someone else that catches your eye?
In a time where everyone wants technology to do virtually everything for them, it is important to remember technology cannot replace basic human interaction. It is actually quite interesting to think apps such as Tinder, which are meant to help us socialize, are actually hindering our communication abilities in more ways than one.
