Has Tinder Lost Its Spark?

THE GUARDIAN - Aug 11 - A new study, published last month in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, found that compulsive use made online dating swipers feel even more lonely. Swipe fatigue has prompted some daters to try an analogue approach. In 2019, the matchmaking industry has thrived. Caroline Brealey, founder of Mutual Attraction, a London-based matchmaking service, says the company has seen a dramatic increase in younger clients. "Tinder doesn't present anything radically new," explains Michael Gratzke, chair of the Love Research Network, based at the University of Hull. "Dating apps mimic the way we make snap decisions about people in real life. When we enter a room, it takes seconds to sort who we see." But there is one thing about it that differs from traditional love: swipe. Tinder is addictive. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist, argues that we simply don't know what we're doing. "We shouldn't be thinking of these tools as "dating apps", she says. "They're introducing sites. Fisher's solution? Log off when you've spoken to nine people. More than this and we're cognitively overloaded, she argues, leading to romantic fatigue.