Tinder: sexism in social networks

Description

A new study from Manchester University has reached a conclusion in their research that straight male users of Tinder feel let down when a date is not as attractive as they had expected, and thus feel entitled to “use [her] as they see fit”. In short, Tinder is a hotbed of objectification and entitlement based on conventional beauty standards. Now tell us something we don’t know.

This research and the media’s reporting of it follow a predictable pattern in the social media age, in which we’re regularly told that our new favourite app is, in fact, a danger: dating apps are responsible for an increase in STIs; Uber is leaving us all vulnerable to sexual assault; it’s Snapchat’s fault that revenge porn is on the rise. If these reports are to be believed, the rise of social media has brought with it a rise in misogyny.

The fact is, though, that while it’s convenient to blame technology we don’t fully understand for misogynistic and predatory behaviour, these apps are quite simply new platforms for very old attitudes.