Tinderbox!

“You can’t swipe right, unless you swipe right on yourself”

There is a Hollywood movie called 'Deception'. This movie was not a box office success, but is engaging enough to keep you glued till the end. In the movie, the protagonist is a typical workaholic who is lured into a whole new world of friendships (read 'free sex') by the antagonist where the parties who make up the sex ring are very normal people who work for a living. They could be musicians, waiters, corporate honchos, businessmen....just about anyone. The whole ring operates on the basis of 'calling party pays' - the person who is part of the ring and who calls the other party for the (night's) adventure, pays for it. No names asked, no details exchanged. So, assuming you are part of this ring, you could call and if the other party says yes, you could be in bed with an actor one day and the best looking corporate man / woman the next. It is just a matter of 'slam, bam, thank you, ma'm (or 'mister' , depending on who calls) and people move on. The protagonist is shocked and pleasantly surprised (obviously) that such a world exists at just a phone call away. The rule is, of course, you maintain anonymity. So he finds that he is in bed one day with the chief of a big corporation and another day with the pretty young lady who works in the same office complex as he. None of them even acknowledge him later when they are face to face, even in elevators and other public places. That's the rule, isn't it? Pure unadulterated fun at the click of a few buttons.

Click to today, and boy, don't we have this world here with us? Yes. At the swipe of your smartphone. I am talking of apps like 'tinder'. Now,did you know that tinder is so popular in India that the company has opened its only second office in India? What essentially is this app and why is this so popular? I remember, during the early days of internet, there used to be chat sites where unknown people would log in and chat. Most of these people would use only fake names and details and the chats were just a source of cheap titillation. This has morphed to the smartphone through apps, the most popular of which today is tinder. Essentially, tinder advertises itself as a 'dating' site. Once you log in, there are photographs of people who are in your neighbourhood, who have registered on tinder. There are no forms to be filled up - it just uses your Facebook profile. You swipe left to ignore the person and right to show interest. Apparently, the average tinder user logs in 11 times a day and spends around 10 minutes each session swiping left or right.

Today, unlike other sites, tinder is the most popular simply because it makes no pretensions. It preys on the primary instinct of man. It lets you to connect and make your own assumptions. It goes without saying that the conventional good looking man or woman would draw in most right swipes.

Studies from the internet show that tinder is essentially used as the ring in the movie I talked about in the first para of this article. While it may help nurture a serious relationship, it is primarily about one night stands. The very fact that a right swipe indicates a like and a left indicates a no is very indicative of a superficial imprint by which people rate each other - just by looks. I am sure that none of us are such amazing mind readers that we can get signals just by looking at the photo of a person. So it just boils down to looks and....well, you know what. Sometimes, the looks of people may be worth words, but their actual words may be worth nothing.

No denying that it could lead to really serious relationships, but, from various studies, surveys and the like on the net, it forms a miniscule percentage. Before writing this piece, to be fair, I downloaded and tested the app. I feel that the average tinder user does not give out signals of that sort. It is how people represent themselves. I am no judge of morals and do not believe there is a right and a wrong - it is up to you - but I can safely conclude that the average tinderboy or tindergirl is not looking for a serious relationship, while there is no denying that it could metamorphosise into one. And yes, there are people who pay twenty dollars for an account on Tinder plus too! Maybe they are as confused as the others are.

The answer to “Does Tinder work?” would depend on what you are looking for. Like Whatsapp, for example. It is a social messaging tool. If you want to connect with people, pass on information instantaneously, then it works.

Though I have only tested it to write and article and do not plan to use it, the advantage of Tinder an app for social networking is that it perhaps makes connecting easier than what is originally thought of. It is just at the swipe of a finger and it can’t get easier than that.

That brings us to the question to your question? “What are you looking for?” You need to answer this question yourself to your satisfaction rather than make an app answer that. It also depends on how you want to use an app and for what purpose. The purpose of Tinder can be for anything - just to connect with people, one night stands, casual relationships to really serious ones. I guess this would depend on your ability to connect and your needs, which are never constant and vary from time to time.

So, answer that question and this question would become clear to you!