it was pretty clear that these apps were dogshit designed to steal information while keeping you engaged with bots
They haven’t always been, though. I remember the good old times of okcupid - they had a system of interests you could enter and then they linked those interests to all of the users in their database. It was so effective to find people listening to the same music, playing the same games…
They removed the whole thing after they got bought out, removing one of the biggest features that made the platform unique. It explains why there are still a lot of people around recommending platforms like Tinder and okcupid, they remember their positive experiences and maybe even found a partner. But those times are long over.
The worst enshittification is making male people pay for replying to messages. That is just vile.
That’s fair. I may generally be a bit over suspicious at times, but the apps definitely struck me as off very early on. As to charging men, while it does suck, I get it. It similar to “ladies’ night” at clubs (do they still do that?). It isn’t hard to get men in the door, but it is significantly harder to get women to attend, oftentimes due to some of the behaviors exhibited by the men. With the gender differences on app usage, it would likely drive that disparity even higher if they charged women.
They haven’t always been, though. I remember the good old times of okcupid - they had a system of interests you could enter and then they linked those interests to all of the users in their database. It was so effective to find people listening to the same music, playing the same games…
They removed the whole thing after they got bought out, removing one of the biggest features that made the platform unique. It explains why there are still a lot of people around recommending platforms like Tinder and okcupid, they remember their positive experiences and maybe even found a partner. But those times are long over.
The worst enshittification is making male people pay for replying to messages. That is just vile.
That’s fair. I may generally be a bit over suspicious at times, but the apps definitely struck me as off very early on. As to charging men, while it does suck, I get it. It similar to “ladies’ night” at clubs (do they still do that?). It isn’t hard to get men in the door, but it is significantly harder to get women to attend, oftentimes due to some of the behaviors exhibited by the men. With the gender differences on app usage, it would likely drive that disparity even higher if they charged women.