posted in Technology
Dating Apps Are Dying
time.com/article/2026/09/09/dating-apps-are-dying/
Replying to @Mustachius_Grumpius@thelemmy.club
I met my wife on a dating app, but it was over 20 years ago now. I suspect that like everything they all have evolved to capture your eyeballs as much as possible. Back when I used them, they were about meeting people, they hadn’t yet gamified them with the swipes and so forth.
So, not surprised, a little sad to hear it even, since I can’t imagine being a young person and trying to meet new people these days. Then again, as an aspiring Luddite these days, I hope people find a way to connect in real life.
Replying to @4grams@awful.systems
Back when I used them, they were about meeting people,
back then they didn’t suck (as much) because they were still in the ‘acquire users at any cost’ phase.
Replying to @adarza@lemmy.ca
20 years ago internet was a whole different place anyway. You’d set up a useful website as a hobby, it’d be monetized with either ads or a subscription if it was truly game changing, but it wouldn’t be invasive, if it makes you a living that’s great, if it doesn’t then you still have a day job. They were hobby projects. Now all the easy niches are filled already, you need to put a lot more effort into building something that people would want to use. That costs money. You start off by amassing costs, meaning you either sink a ton of your own money or investor funds into it. Now you truly do have to ‘acquire users at any cost’ and then monetize the shit out of them.