Throughout this research process a lot of information was gained and received. It is incredibly important to study and interpret the differing ways in which people utilize technology within our society, especially when it pertains to online dating. This new realm of possibilities and affordances opens our eyes to the ways in which technology is quickly blending in with our real world lives. Very quickly we have seen the cohesion of offline and online worlds and dating sites are specifically of interest because such intimate interactions as meeting and getting to know a new romantic partner can now be done entirely online.
The information extracted through my research helps us understand the new ways in which young college students participate in hook up and romantic online structures. By understanding this sociologists are able to better grasp the ways in which human connections, particularly romantic ones, are formed online. While I did uncover a lot of positive aspects of Tinder, I certainly learned the hindrances it has too. At the end of the day every respondent I spoke to expressed that the connections between the person they were speaking to online would be much more meaningful if handled in person. Thus while Tinder makes these interactions easier and more efficient there is still a noticeable element of human to human contact that is sorely missed. While apps like Tinder have grown increasingly popular, it should be noted that this is not the inevitable direction of dating in the twenty first century as far as I can see.
A draw back for this study is that it only looks at those who are capable of creating a profile. The demographic is limited to smart phone users who also have Facebook which may limit people that are not able to have cross-media profiles. It also leaves out people who have access to other dating sites that can be accessed only online because the application is something you can primarily use on your phone. Tinder is only compatible with those who have smart phones which leaves out a large section of the population that have access to wifi but not a smart phone. Lastly, studies on the app need to focus on a larger range of demographics. Right now most of the research I found was on generic users or mainly male users but I have not come across something that focuses on, say, the female gender and the differences between male and female Tinder users. Additionally race was never discussed in any outside literature I found and was not considered as a factor when conducting research. It may be interesting to conduct a study where users were compared across race, and or if race was a factor in deciding wether to swipe left or right. Since the application is fairly young there is still much room more improvement on additional research.