Opinion:
OPINION: Do the companies really want you to find a partner, or do they want you to keep paying for the search for True Love?
Prince or Princess Charming from fairytales do not exist in real life. Yet, this doesn’t
deter dating apps from peddling the illusion that their platform alone can
guide you to discover that one exceptional person you deserve.
In our
recent study, we found that dating apps employ three key discourses in their
marketing rhetoric. These discourses could actually make it more difficult to
find a partner.
A mere few
taps on your smartphone allow you to access a myriad of dating apps, initiating
the pursuit of your ideal life partner. The number of dating app users is
increasing, and the online dating market
is expected to reach 452.5 million users.
Undoubtedly, not finding a partner translates into substantial profits for dating companies.
Despite the widespread appeal, users
frequently express frustration and discontent, arguing that these apps add
complexity to the quest for a lifelong companion. Undoubtedly, not finding
a partner translates into substantial profits for dating companies. Case in
point, the Match Group recorded a total revenue of 3.19 billion U.S.
dollars in 2022.
So, what do
dating apps promise their users? In our study, we dissected the marketing
rhetoric and scrutinised the promises made by dating apps. Our critical
discourse analysis of 50 dating apps from Google Play Store and Apple App Store
unveiled three main discursive themes that dating apps use to attract users: love,
critical mass, and technology.
These discourses could actually make it more
difficult to find someone. The illusion of romance is a shortsighted side of
the partnership coin, as a marriage and love bring about a variety of feelings
over time.
The romantic
ideal of love
‘Love’
emerges as a central theme in dating apps, with promises revolving around
finding the perfect partner. Rooted in societal expectations of romance and
enduring love, the apps construct narratives of life-changing experiences and
serendipitous encounters.
Users are prompted to actively seek ‘The One,’ who
purportedly brings happiness and fulfilment, reinforcing hegemonic social
practices of love. The discourse often links finding ‘The One’ to a
transformative life experience, with monogamy presented as an underlying norm.
However, it tends to focus on a Western, romantic, and emotional ideal,
overshadowing other aspects of relationships like friendship, conversation
partner, and someone to share your bills and laundry with.
A marriage is
characterized with passionate love in the beginning, yet with time the romantic
feelings change to companionate love providing attachment on a deeper level,
safety, trust, and the creation of a life-project together.
A large
pool of potential partners
Dating apps
strategically communicate the abundance of potential partners, emphasizing past
successes, the present user base, and future projections. The discourse
underscores the critical mass of members, suggesting that a large pool enhances
the chances of finding a suitable match.
Dating apps foster an established image of love by addressing the issues users encounter, aligning with existing discourse
The assurance is that if you don’t
find ‘The One’ immediately, you are likely to find him or her in the near
future within the app’s expanding user base. So, if you haven’t met him or her
yet, you just have to wait and keep paying for your membership as the ‘Person
You Deserve’ will likely show up soon.
Technological
solutions for finding love
The promise
of advanced technology constitutes the third crucial discourse in dating apps.
Highlighting sorting processes, matchmaker algorithms, and technical
affordances, these apps position themselves as technological solutions to the
challenges of finding love. The discourse of technology offers an optimistic
and almost magical perspective, presenting algorithms as tools that enhance the
user’s ability to navigate the vast pool of potential partners.
Just wait
and pay
Dating apps
foster an established image of love by addressing the issues users encounter,
aligning with existing discourse. They then offer to guide users towards their
ideal match by referencing the extensive pool of candidates available now or in
the near future. The apps assert that their matchmaking technology and
algorithms will find ‘The One’ for you.
The sub-theme of having one
soulmate and a chosen one intersects with the theme of a large pool of
potential candidates, contributing to the fear of missing out on a potential
match. Meanwhile, all you have to do is sit back and wait – and contribute a
few dollars to Tinder, Happn, Hinge, Plenty of fish, OkCupid, or any of the
other dating apps the U.S. company Match Group offers.
Worth
noting, we used ChatGPT to proofread this text. The text is based on our book
chapter Strategic Communication in Digital Ecosystems: A Critical Discourse
Analysis of Dating Applications written by Lene Pettersen and Faltin Karlsen,
which will be published in the beginning of 2024 in the anthology Strategic
Communication – Contemporary Perspectives by Cappelen Damm in Norway.
Reference:
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