'TakePart Live: TPL Disrupt' Series: Dating 2.0
As a single girl in Los Angeles with nine millennial roommates, I find that dating is always a favorite conversation topic. Reenacting each other’s online dating messages using dramatic voices is one way we entertain each other at dinner. So the topic of TakePart Live’s first "TPL Disrupt" feature of the year, “Dating 2.0,” felt like a timely, relevant story to start off with.
For the segment, we got host Jacob Soboroff to sign up for two dating apps, Tinder and Grindr. Soboroff, who is happily married and had the consent of his wife, went on them to connect with users and talk to them about their experiences with digital dating.
Tinder, an app that facilitates social connections by letting users choose whether or not they like other users before letting them chat together, is mostly for straight people looking for casual dates. Grindr is geared towards the gay community and lets users chat with others in their vicinity.
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We met with users from both apps, even getting together a group date of seven Tinder guys and girls for Jacob to meet with. We found that the general consensus was that, while these apps are an easy and tempting way to meet potential dates in our crowded lives, hardly anyone felt that they could lead to meaningful relationships.
This isn’t to say that dating apps are a waste of time. These flings fill the time until we meet the select few people we want to have serious relationships with, giving us time to decide what we want and don’t want in the future. That said, having given Tinder a try, I’m weaning myself off of it solely because I despise text conversations. Nothing really beats a spirited conversation at a bar fueled by alcohol and groovy music, occasionally masked with beer goggles.
"TPL Disrupt" is TakePart Live's original documentary series. This is the fifth of the weekly features that will combine investigative and participatory docu-journalism.
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• 'TakePart Live: TPL Disrupt' Series: Happiness
• 'TakePart Live: TPL Disrupt' Series: Marijuana's Changing Landscape
• 'TakePart Live: TPL Disrupt' Series: Underground Economy
Original article from TakePart
