Early this week came one more solution to the ‘dating apocalypse’. In other words, dating app front-runner Hinge is going the paid route. So, serious relationship comes at a price in a redesigned Hinge ‘for people who want more’. A monthly paywall of $7 is touted to be a break free from the ‘swipe-obsessed dating culture’. Instead of swiping, tapping and scrolling are making business.
“Swiping apps are not ‘successful’ because they’re effective at helping users find relationships; rather they’re effective at maximising user engagement (and therefore advertising revenue). Like a casino, a swiping app isn’t designed to help you win; it’s designed to keep you playing so the house wins. The most popular swiping app boasts that users login on average 11 times per day spending up to 90 minutes per day swiping, and have accumulated on average over 200 matches. However, for the vast majority of users this has led to exactly zero relationships,” blogs Hinge. Hinge was first started in 2011 as the ‘first social-media-integrated dating service’. In August 2016, prior to the modifications, it carried out an extensive survey among 300 users and found out that “81 percent of people on Hinge didn’t find a serious relationship on the app.” There is also a website, ‘thedatingapocalypse’, throwing more insights for the user into the new version of Hinge. A major rival of Tinder, Hinge could amass $20 million funding since its emergence in New York in 2011.
The new Hinge works this way, as explained by engadget.com, “When you’re looking for new matches, you’re presented with profile pages populated with up to nine pictures, mutual friends, basic facts, as well as the candidate’s answers to up to six preset questions. You’ll have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the current profile to see the next person.”
Hinge is not alone in the paid dating scene. An online dating destination eHarmony is priced at $60 a month for access to full features. Match.com has a $42 paid package for a month. Both provide paid packages for slashed down rates for those who opt for an annual subscription.
