How Dating Apps Inform our Online Identity

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How Dating Apps Inform our Online Identity
Dating apps have had an enormous impact on the dating scene. The apps have significantly revolutionized how people find partners and form relationships. The dating apps are part of a broader digital phenomenon characterized by online and mobile-based interactions that have become the norm. Dating apps have a dramatic shift in the dating scene by enabling people of all sexualities, gender, and personalities to interact, mingle, and find mates. However, since the primary means of engagement on the dating apps is the user profile, individuals strive to have the best possible profiles to look attractive. This has affected how people create their identities on dating apps to look attractive to their target mates. Based on Irving Goffman's theory on the presentation of the self in everyday life and Judith Buttler's concept of gender performance, it can be argued that dating apps have created an environment where users strive to make perfect online identities to attract mates.
Dating apps originated from the gay community with apps like Grindr and Scruff launched to help gay men find partners. Grindr was launched in 2009, while Scruff was launched in 2010. However, it was not until 2012, when Tinder was established, that there was a dramatic shift in online dating. Tinder allowed people of all sexualities and gender to easily connect, find love, sex, and dates (Lee 5). In 2013, Tinder expanded to Android phones, reaching out to more than 70% of smartphone users in the world (Lee 5). Since then, the app has established itself as the market leader in the online dating industry. Today, mobile phone users are spoilt for choice when it comes to dating apps. Some of the popular apps besides Tinder include Bumble, Plenty Of Fish, OkCupid, eHarmony, Jack'd, Coffee Meets Bagel, Grindr, Happn, HER, Zoosk, and EliteSingles, among others.
Like social media networks, dating apps require users to sign up and create profiles representing their online presence. The profiles primarily comprise photos and short biographies that highlight an individual's preferences. These profiles help users decide on starting a conversation with another person and eventually entering into a relationship. Besides enabling people to find dates and love, the dating apps have also created a successful industry in which any startups have grown rapidly to become major corporations (Finkel et al., 12). These profit-motivated apps gather vast amounts of data from their millions of users. The data is usually shared with other businesses for profit.
In the US, it is estimated that about one in three adults has used a dating app. It is also projected that the number of dating app users will rise to 53 million in the US by 2024 from about 44 million in 2020 (MacKee 4). The proliferation of these dating apps has had an enormous social impact in unprecedented ways. The apps have transformed online communication, standardized romance, and redefined expectations for romance. Most importantly, dating apps have significantly changed how people perceive and understand their online identities, particularly along the lines of gender and sexuality, which has completely changed the discourse around the culture and politics of online dating (MacKee 7). Notably, dating apps provide safe spaces for marginalized people and communities to have a voice, express themselves, and find other like-minded people. In terms of gender and sexuality, many different apps target different segments within the population. For example, a dating app such as Bumble is considered women-friendly because it requires women to initiate the conversation. Grinder, on the other hand, is meant for gay men. On the other hand, HER targets lesbians, queer, and bisexual people.
Irving Goffman's theory on the presentation of the self in everyday life argues that an individual meets other people; they will always seek to guide or control the impression that others have of them by altering or fixing their appearance, manner, or setting. Simultaneously, the other person will always try to form and obtain more information about the individual. Based on this scenario, Goffman concludes that all participants in social interactions try to avoid being embarrassed and embarrassing others. He likens social interactions to theatrical performances in which there is a front stage and a backstage. The front stage is where an individual is in front of their audience and is actively engaged with them. This is where the individual highlights and reinforces positive aspects about themselves to create a positive impression on the audience. This includes the individual's behavior and appearance.
On the other hand, backstage is where the individual prepares for the performance on stage. According to this dramaturgical analysis of human interactions, every human is an actor on a social stage. Theref...