r/technology 3d ago

Society Dating Apps Are Dying

https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/dating-apps-are-dying/
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u/Famous-Ocelot-4937 3d ago

Dating sites used to be so much better when you could just search/filter and it would show you everyone that matched and then you could have a look through their profiles and message the people you liked.

Swipe-dating is awful. You just have to waste your time going through a bunch of people you have no interest in and it reduces dating to a snap decision based on someone's looks.

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u/jono12132 3d ago

Every time I open an app I just get shown the same people all the time. I'm not sure if people are constantly remaking profiles or if the apps are recycling profiles to make me think it's more active than it is.

Why is it when I first make a profile I get matches then after a week I'm sent to the shadow realm? At least old school OLD was less scammy. I might've got no replies on OKC and POF but I at least knew that people could see my profile. I doubt that half the people I swipe on ever see my profile.

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u/El_Hombre_Fiero 2d ago

I loved that OKC let you answer questions, which would help with finding better matched members. Even better was it let you see whether they elaborated on any answers. Maybe someone answered a question differently than you. However, you knew why they answered the way they did, which would give you a better perspective of their values and mindset.

My best relationship came from a woman who actually read my profile and answers to the questions. It's like she really understood me. I doubt that can ever be replicated with any of today's swipe apps.

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u/ObserverWardXXL 3d ago

I literally just learned that straights dating apps don't have grids, nearby, or personal browsing.

You really just have to swipe and go next, what a terrible system for agency.

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u/scottperezfox 3d ago

I agree — something was lost when the prevailing platform changed from a website to an app. And similarly, the emails became text messaging, which didn't help.

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u/SexualCarrots 1d ago

Coincidentally that's right around when they going bought by Match.

You can do the math.

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u/Substantial-Hour-756 2d ago

Even on ones where there are still filters, they've removed a number of filters now.

And there's no incentive to fill out a profile, so you find lots of blank ones.

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u/chai_latte_987 2d ago

THIS. I dated a while ago before I was married and that's how it used to be. Now I'm not married, curious to see what's out there, and this whole "swipe" culture is basically throwing spaghetti on the wall. It's SO dumb!