Those of us who haven't been living underneath a rock know what Tinder is. For those of you that are a bit out of the loop, it is a modern location based social media that allows for people in similar areas to chat with each other and potentially meet up. This was all that Tinder was originally intended for, but has transformed into an online platform used to find people to hook up with. This transformation is a result of embedded values in the programming, or tendencies in the programming to promote moral value or norms.
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| Tinder Gender Interest Prompt |
One of the first questions Tinder asks you when signing up, is what gender you are interested in matching with. This is the bit of programming that turns this app from a location based social media site to a dating site. This promotes people seeking out other people on this platform on the basis of becoming romantically or sexually involved with each other rather than interacting with others on the basis of friendship. I am not saying that social media should not allow for interaction between people who are attracted to each other, but eliminating interactions with people you are not attracted to creates a platform more similar to a dating site.
Although this changes what tinder is, I don't believe it is the embedded value that is most concerning about Tinder -- this would be the focus on appearance to match users. As you can see on the picture on the right of a tinder profile, what you initially see is the user's picture with their name and less than a sentence about them. Although you can view more details about them, the app programming encourages users to swipe left (not match) or swipe right (match) based off of the picture provided. This is what turned Tinder into a hookup app. The app went from the initial idea of being able to match up with people in your area with similar interest to matching up with attractive people in your area and often times not knowing much about them.
Some may not see this as a big issue -- so what if people want to hook up with attractive people close by? That may be true, but Tinder has become so big that it could have an effect on the very culture of our society. What it means to be in a relationship with someone may drastically change and what we want in our relationships may as well. If we no longer care about intimate connection and love for another person based on personality and what we want out of our relationships is simply sex, then this may not be an issue. If these are values we wish to uphold, Tinder's programming may be something that we have to rethink or refrain from.
This was an interesting read, and the direction you took it in definitely inspires further thought. I did notice a couple things that you could do to improve the overall quality. The way the text is laid out is kind of hard to read, it would definitely improve the flow if you were to match the font size.
ReplyDeleteAlso how does this relate to the readings? Maybe try and relate it to Shannon Valor's article in the beginning.
I do like the use of pictures, it really helps the reader to picture what you're talking about. The layout of the pictures also really helps the flow and is non intrusive.
I think you did a great job of explaining the concept of Tinder and the problems that has. I also think that the pictures help the reader understand what you are talking about. One of the things that you could do better is use one of the readings from class to bolster your claim. This will give the reader a better idea of why there are problems with Tinder. You could probably shorten your description of how Tinder works so you have more words to connect it to one of the readings from class.
ReplyDeleteI found your post intriguing because currently Tinder is known to be a mobile application associated with “hookup culture” rather than finding a “permanent match.” I had no idea that the original intention of Tinder was to just “meet people.” I would love if you could relate the “embedded values” part with one of the required articles and tie it back to your conclusion. When you write “I don't believe it is the embedded value that is most concerning about Tinder,” it loses the connection between your example and the readings from class.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the incorporation of your voice in the beginning of your blog. The idea of embedded values was clearly introduced in your blog, but the lack of information on regards to the author and the article is something you could add. I would also have liked to seen more about your thoughts on Tinder's role in how they might address these values. You could potentially add this commentary by reducing the amount of descriptions you have of Tinder's platform.
ReplyDeleteHave you or someone you know, ever used Tinder before? Maybe adding some personal experiences with the app and how you tried to use it could help show how it's transformed into what it is. Also try to keep the same font and font size throughout the post.
ReplyDeleteI liked the topic of something very relatable to the modern world since many interactions now are taking place over social media and not real life. However, I thought that there could be more connection to the readings instead of a description of the app and then analysis of it. Maybe add in how Tinder's algorithms finds matches for the user if there is one and try to keep uniform formatting throughout the post. I also believe there could've been more information on the "embedded values" and not just referencing it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good take on a touchy subject, and its very relevant. Its interesting to see that people I know are judged by tinder relationships, but it would be interesting to get a user take on it and how background plays into the equation for example it can be an equalizer for class separation due to the lack of information that can be shown through the app, and with that said a user testimony or two could be useful.
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