TINDER: IT’S A MATCH!
Tinder is a location based online-dating application that allows users to swipe left(dislike) or right(like) and allows users to chat if both parties swiped to the right by notifying them with a warm, “It’s a match!” The application has been welcomed by the Bangladeshi young generation with more warmth than expected. To dig a little deeper we surveyed 100 university-going (anonymous) students to find the answers to a few lingering questions. Understanding the preferences and habits of this tech-savvy generation can provide insights into the global phenomenon of webcam chathosts around the world. The intersection of technology and personal connections extends beyond dating apps, creating a diverse and interconnected digital space where individuals explore various avenues for communication and social engagement.
By Persa Sanjana Hussain
Tinder was designed to target the youth and with the current statistics the youth of Bangladesh has apparently played a part in this pool too. It is an excellent example of how the youth in this country is inclining towards accepting new things but it also brings into question the shortcomings of accepting a sub-culture at such a fast rate. Bangladesh, being an Asian country consisting of mostly Muslims places a great deal of importance to Marriage and due to the family-oriented nature of people relationships are not taken lightly either. Unlike western countries looking for love online is not even accepted by easily more than 80% of the user’s parents. Other than that a journalist from a newspaper stated “On many unpleasant and cringe-worthy instances, you will discover people you know on Tinder. Like your second grade math teacher. Or your cousin. Or your aunt. And be assured, they have seen you too. And this is why it is predicted that Tinder may not be the right dating app for Bangladesh after all”. This gives way to Tinder being used in private and in secrecy but still working its way out of the huge social challenges faced in this country.
The positives mostly go unnoticed. Besides being a dating application Tinder has been a great platform for Bangladeshis who are not good with expressing themselves or shy away from making the first move as this application consists of users with the same purpose which is looking for love. So it is not hard to make the first move because chances of rejection are much less than in the real world and rejection itself is less threatening because of the innumerous options or matches available. Introverts tend to be comfortable with, and good at, expressing themselves in writing. Communicating online first, before meeting, can be an easy way through all the awkward preliminary chitchat for them says Sophia Dembling, author of the book Introverts in Love: The Quiet Way to Happily Ever After
Although most young people have their own ways of venting out their personal frustration it may be as harmful as restoring to drugs or even self-harm. Due to the culture in Bangladesh where issues such as depression and anxiety are under-rated below an acceptable limit many young people do not know exactly what to do. This coupled with impulsiveness of their age leads them to incline towards making some of the worst decisions in life. Tinder may act like just another window for such an escape which can leave the participants wondering why they even joined in the first place after years. In our country online dating is not talked about, in-fact children are not even free to talk about their relationships with their family members or even close friends at times. This seems to hold to be truer for physical relationships resulting in a lack of proper guidance for the people involved and such an issue calls for attention. However the intensity of the consequences can only go this far if the tinder participants from our country join the app while they are frustrated and not completely in their right senses being fully aware of the scope and ambiguity of this application. It is important to note down what makes an individual coming from a relatively more conservative country regarding relationships join a dating platform which mostly consists of people who have a conflictingly very open point-of-view about relationships and do not pay heed to its gravity in order to save themselves from losing their sense of individualism. Understanding the whole concept may take us a long way when it comes to alleviating the problem if it is as threatening as it seems to be to begin with.
It can be said that even though Tinder is gaining popularity in our country it is mostly kept private, especially by the male users. Moreover people on Tinder are not just looking forward to get rid of their frustration about their love life but rather planning to spend a liberal amount of time there finding out more about the possibilities, difficulties and challenges of a relationship without wanting to take any liability in which online based communication makes it easier. So in our country mainly people going through a phase of recovery from the damage of previous relationships along with people looking for new experiences are to be found on Tinder. Consequently, according to a survey conducted by us on 100 young adults even though many people see Tinder as a solution or a way out only a few find it to be actually helpful. The rest either stay to become addicted to this multi-dimensional location-based virtual platform or leave to find a better way out from their love life problems.
When directly asked if they were happy with their love lives 40% claimed that they were and the rest went with a no. Surprisingly 23.3% even said that they wouldn’t be on Tinder if they were happy with their love life.
A question was asked to the respondents of the survey to find out whether their past relationships had any effect on their choice to be on Tinder. Almost a 33.3% of the people agreed that their past relationships did have an effect on their decision to be on Tinder which shows a clear indication that many people resorted to be on Tinder after coming out from a rough relationship. 20% went with “maybe” which means that even if they were not sure it is not impossible that their past relationship failure had lead them to open a Tinder account. On the other hand 46 people, most of the ones who were single already went with a solid no.
Dating behavior may differ internationally, but we are all chemically identical in love. Accordingly it is not surprising to see the western culture spread in our country at this rate however the surrounding environment in our country easily and mostly conflicts the online dating norm thus it is of utmost necessity for the young people to be fully aware of their decisions and consequences while being a part of Tinder and taking charge of their frustration without letting it get them into something they did not want to sign up for. Tinder and in fact any online dating application works best when used by accountable and mature individuals in their right minds. Otherwise people who are not fully aware of the shortcomings are barely likely to take away anything from Tinder other than lessons from mistakes.
