Category Archives: Introduction

Please Answer the following with as much detail as possible:

• How often do you use Tinder/check your Tinder a day? How many people do you usually speak to?
• Do you feel comfortable talking to people over Tinder verse talking to a stranger in person? Why or why not?
• What types of interactions do you have on Tinder? Are they short and brief, do you speak to people and usually meet up in person or not? Do you talk to them for a long time before you meet with them?
• How ‘intimate’ are your Tinder conversations? Have you ever spoken to someone about something you otherwise would have felt uncomfortable sharing in person? (Personal issues, feelings, ideas). What have you talked about? Please describe
• When sharing those personal things (if you answered above) why did you do so, how did it make you feel?
• Have you ever met someone online offline? I.e. met up with someone from Tinder? If YES, please describe that interaction and any comfort or anxiety you felt.
• Do you think you would have reached out to this person if you had met them in person, say you saw them at a resturant, would you have gone up and introduced yourself? Why or why not?
• How does Tinder ease or exacerbate your anxieties of meeting new people?
• What challenges do you face when using Tinder? (Is there anything that is difficult about using the app to meet new people?)
• What do you find easy about using Tinder and why?
• Do you use Tinder while you are out at night (eating, hanging out, going to a bar) as a way to meet someone for that night? If YES please describe how:
• If you have met a significant other (partner) on Tinder please answer below:
• Please describe in detail the first interactions you remember having with your significant other: why were you initially attracted to them?
• How long did you speak with them online before meeting in person?
• Please describe the first time you met in person, giving detail to any feelings you recall, any thoughts that you had or any defining characteristics of that interaction:
• Why did you choose Tinder and was your initial use for it to find someone to have a long term (over 1 month) relationship? Why or why not?
• Describe any weaknesses or challenges you faced while using Tinder to get to know your significant other:
• Describe any affordances or ease that was experienced while using Tinder to get to know your significant other:

Since the technological revolution and invention of the world wide web many different and new highways of communication have emerged. In this digital age navigating these roads can be extremely beneficial and at the same time a hinderance for face to face contact. In my paper I will be discussion the social media realm of Tinder and how this new dating app has changed the way young college students interact in online settings. Deciding to look into Tinder was not a hard choice to make, at this day and age nearly every one of my colleagues and friends have either used the app or at least know what it is. Through my research I aim to expose the affordances Tinder grants its users as well as some of the challenges people face while interacting in an online space. Through survey questionnaires as well as in person interviews I begin to unravel and expose the inner workings of this app and the people who use it. By focusing on not only those who not only use Tinder to find a date but by also looking into those that have found their current romantic partner online I grant myself a unique and diverse look at how different people use the app.

The features that need to be understood about Tinder are the following. First the application requires you to link your profile with your Facebook account, so not only can people who do not have a Facebook not use the app it also creates an element of authenticity when speaking to people through Tinder. Being able to connect your Tinder with your Facebook give users a more comforting experience with the app, knowing it would be extremely difficult and ultimately useless to create a fake Facebook to have a fake Tinder. Another interesting aspect of the app is the concept of “swiping a deck of cards”. When you use the app you either swipe right which means you wish to discard someone or swipe left which allows you to let them know you have matched with them. An intriguing element of that means that you only know who you have matched with if they also have like you back, so you are instantly (nearly every time) notified if someone feels the same way about you. By utilizing the photograph and biographies people are able to personalize and select which photos and statements they wish to associate with their profile and this is the basis upon which a potential mate will judge you.

These findings are incredibly relevant to sociology as a whole because Tinder is used in so many ways all around the United States. By attempting to understand the types of connections people foster online we are better able to understand the ever changing world of dating. Being able to see what advantages this app brings people, especially pertaining to things such as easing the anxiety of meeting new people, sociologists can get an inside look into how the digital world meshes with the real world. Tinder is a very unique opportunity to study how the online world of dating crosses over into reality and how they co-exist or not.  Understanding new methods of dating and making connections is important to better grasp the changing society we live in and how perhaps the world of dating as we use to understand it is quickly changing. Looking at peoples connections is also pertinent for a sociologist who is trying to further their knowledge in human bonds, especially mediated through social media. Tinder also gives us a look into the culture of online dating, through my study I hope to discover new ways in which people use the app to influence their real world lives.