What Are Your Intentions? The Expectations & Practices on Tinder

Many people use Tinder with the expectation of receiving affirmation from others. This encourages Tinder to be referred to as an “ego-booster” and a “hot-or-not app”. This affirmation can easily be received through matching with others, receiving messages and super likes. The expectations of what people are looking for when signing up for Tinder can vary greatly as some people are on it strictly for entertainment purposes, others are looking for hookups, and in some cases, people are looking to develop meaningful relationships. “The prevalent view that Tinder is a sex, or hookup app, remains salient among users; although, many users utilize Tinder for creating other interpersonal communication connections and relationships, both romantic and platonic” (LeFebvre, 2017). An article from the Guardian said that “With Tinder, the pretext is to hook-up, but the real pleasure is derived from the Tindering process” (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2014). People get pleasure simply from using the app and matching with countless strangers without the intentions of ever meeting them or even talking to them genuinely. However, a sex study was conducted by Esquire that found that 60 percent of female Tinder users say that they are not just looking for a hook-up, but a meaningful match. But this study also found that 63 percent of users reported using the app out of boredom.

  Common practices within Tinder include swiping extremely quickly without more than a quick glance at someone which relates to the fast-paced and disposable culture. The practices on Tinder tend to vary between men and women. Men are reportedly must less choosy with who they swipe for whereas women only swipe right when they are really interested in someone. Women also tend to spend more time on the app in general but that is because they actually spend more time looking at the profiles before swiping. Men tend to be the ones to message first with many women claiming they never do so.