Tinder is the hottest dating app that exploded onto social media about three years ago. The model is an interesting one that other dating websites didn’t even think of trying. While sites like Match.com, eHarmony, and OKCupid have you fill out questionnaires and match you based on compatibility, algorithms, statistics, witchcraft, astrophysics, and a pinch of alchemy, Tinder uses the tactic humanity has been using for the past 200,000 years–stereotyping.
When you walk into a bar with the idea of potentially meeting somebody, do you fill out a survey with the bartender who then escorts you to the nearest freelance writer who also has an interest in surfing and lives in Tribeca? No, of course, not.
I pose another scenario: say you walk into this same bar (compatibility surveys not included) and you happen to walk by a girl wearing a floor length maxi skirt, crop top, and dreadlocks with beads in her hair. Next to her is another attractive woman wearing a gray pencil skirt, blouse, and tight ponytail with comb lines (I have no idea why they’re in the same bar; just go with it). Chances are, you’re going to infer differences between the two fairly quickly, based on how their personal styles speak about them. Yeah, that’s basically how human beings have been doing it for a decently long time. Tinder, observing this method, basically brought the bar to your phone (who uses Tinder sober anyway?).
And, while Tinder doesn’t disclose exactly how many users are actively swiping on their app, they have said there are upwards of a billion swipes every single day (for the newbies or those in LTRs, a right “swipe” means you like the person and a left “swipe” means, “see you later”). Tinder turns it into a game, phrasing it with the options to send a message, or “keep playing.”
And who wouldn’t want to get in on a fun game? Well, apparently celebrities are looking to ride the Tinder tide. It must be really hard getting a date as a celebrity–no, really. If you think your issues are rough, they have won the game of first world problems. When you’re a celebrity, you can’t just walk into a dive bar and chat with a hottie drinking whisky in the corner because everybody wants to be around you.
Celebrities must have a really hard time meeting new (ordinary) people. They see a hundred fans a day, but those people are always fawning all over them, and as a celebrity you can’t actually have a conversation lasting more than a few minutes. There is literally a line of people waiting to talk to you. So what do you do? You date Calvin Harris, Harry Styles, and Jake Gyllenhaal (like I said, being a celebrity is REALLY hard).
But Tinder has recently come out with a fancy new feature for celebrities who want to get in on the hookup scene. If you match with Liam Hemsworth on Tinder you’re probably going to think, “yeah right.”
However, just like Twitter verifies celebrity accounts, Tinder will do the same, giving celebrities that chance to privately chat with ordinary people, get to know them, and possibly meet up for coffee (because why would you date Ryan Gosling when you can date an accountant from New Jersey who still lives with his parents?). And a few celebrities have even mentioned their Tinder usage, like Lindsay Lohan. So, next time you’re on Tinder, keep and eye out for Anna Kendrick.
[Image Credit: Top Mobile Trends]