Based on the article “The Dating Game”, the author introduces the audience to the world online dating. Stampler compares how over time, even things like dating have been tied into our new technology, trying to speed things up a bit to find your “match”. Dating apps such as Tinder, Grindr, Let’s Date, Zoosk, and Hinge use some of the addictive interfaces of successful games like Grand Theft Auto and Candy Crush The problem is that online dating can be transformed into a game of entertainment instead of actually looking for love. Dating for adult men and women has transformed from the old anxious “go up and ask them yourself” to simply “hey, you’re looking for a date? So am I, let’s go on a date”. The seriousness of dating or seeking meaningful relationships between people has simply turned into a mindless game where you can simply swipe through a bunch of photos of strangers and make snap judgments on whether you “like” them or not. Just like anything on the internet, you don’t know for sure whether the person you see on your screen is the same person on the other end of the line.
The author seems to want the reader to be aware that using online dating apps can actually work against finding a serious match, “What I learned was that the overwhelming number of romantic possibilities an app like Tinder offers can delay the decision to commit even a meeting.” Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist from Rutgers University said, “The more opportunities you have, the less likely you are to meet any of them” (45).
According to Catalina Toma, a professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin and an expert in social and psychological effects of online dating, “You get a reward on a variable schedule, [not knowing] when it’s going to happen. It’s like playing slots at a slot machine. You keep trying it out, and sometimes you get a reward and sometimes you do not. And the fact that your behavior gets rewarded sometimes incentivizes you to play more because you think it might come at any moment” (44). This illustrates how addicting these dating apps have become; when you play, you can’t stop because you keep wondering if the thing you’ve been waiting for is actually right around the corner.
After reading this article, I think even though technology might seem like it’s a successful way to speed things up, really it’s best for them to happen naturally to make them more meaningful. Most people who use these apps want to have more than a virtual interaction with another, but most of the time this barely works out. When you’re online, you don’t have to put as much thought on what you say to one another, whereas in person people are more cautious and aware what they say might have an effect on the person. The article goes beyond dating, and explains how social media in general takes over and takes away the seriousness in many things in life.
Works Cited
Stampler, Laura. “The Dating Game.” Time 17 Feb. 2014: 40 – 45. Print.
This is a really thought provoking topic. Technology has taken over so many aspects of our lives and we don't even recognize it. You know, it may seem a bit cliché, but even now, you can definitely tell the difference between people in our age group and people who are like 2-3 years younger. I mean, when I was a kid I had an imagination and the most advanced piece of technology I owned was a tomagotchi. Now, I know a girl that I babysit, she's about 7 and she has a laptop, 2 ipads, and an iphone. Once when I was babysitting her, she asked me if i had an instagram and started showing me photos of a boy she 'liked' (he was also 7). I found this absolutely ridiculous and somehow frightening. Somehow, generations of humans managed to survive without technology, but now you can clearly see that age gap in between us and those kids because of technology. Anyways, this seems kind of like a rant, sorry. Great job on the response!
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