Sex Therapists on Deleting Tinder

Lindsey Kline of Rooster magazine asks for sex therapists’ perspectives on the world of online dating. Overwhelmingly, the professional responses she gets recommend searching for love in the real world instead of an app.

Excerpt:

“The worst thing about Tinder is that, like other social networking platforms, Tinder is designed to keep you chasing dopamine hits but to never feel satisfied,” explains Indigo Stray Conger, Denver-based sex therapist.

“Tinder wants to keep you on the app for as long as possible, not help you find a satisfying partner — or two. Users of the app start out with the goal of meeting someone, but the reward center in their brain keeps swiping right for the ‘reward’ of a message or a match. Users will continue to chase that high without ever feeling satiated.”

Those consistent boosts in self-confidence might seem like an ideal way to keep your head high in the disheartening dating world. But making hundreds of matches doesn’t empower us. It exhausts us.

“When a Tinder user ends up feeling drained, they equate it with their ability to connect to other people and meet their initial goal of finding a partner — or a few good hook-ups,” Conger says. “Actually, that user is drained from using the app itself, regardless of whether they met up with someone or not through the app. Tinder users often report that even after a good date they will go home and keep swiping in search of another hit.”

To read more, including input from Indigo Stray Conger, click here.