Men spend 79 minutes a day on dating apps.
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Online dating can be a gamble: You never know if a message will land you a romantic first date, or a “ghost” or scammer.
One Reddit user quantified his journey in the $1 billion online dating industry in a very personal graph on Monday. Inspired by someone who did the same for OKCupid IAC, +4.09% over the course of 500 days, user KeongManja showed his swiping progress over the course of 28 days.
The results: 53 matches, including 38 people he began talking to on WhatsApp – a separate app owned by Facebook US:FB – and 12 who “ghosted” or never replied. Of the 38 people he spoke with, nine agreed to a date, three stood him up, and two cancelled, leaving him with four actual dates.
These results are not uncommon for many dating apps, said Talia Goldstein, chief executive officer and founder of dating service Three Day Rule said. “Online dating can actually be a great way to increase your pool of potential matches and find dates. However, it can be a confusing and ambiguous process for many,” she said.
Why do people swipe right if they don’t want to meet?
It can be difficult to know what people’s intentions are, she said. Did they swipe right just to boost their ego and see how many matches they could get? “That could explain some of the ghosters, no shows, and non-committal responses like, ‘Don’t know when I’m free’ or ‘too far from you,’” she said. More than 44% of people in one survey released last year said they were swiping for “confidence-boosting procrastination.”
Why should we care? People waste a lot of valuable time – and money – swiping and hoping. Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold, the premium membership, charge $4.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively. Over 2.5 million people pay on Tinder.
Read moreFrom 53 matches to 4 dates: What a month on Tinder is really like