Gamification and Dating Apps V2.0
It’s a Wednesday night. You’re trying your best to give season 7 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine the respect it deserves, but your attention is divided by…
Tom, 31, Architect, 8km away, likes Radiohead, but owns nothing but active wear. We get it mate, you’re on the shred and enjoy #healthyliving. LEFT.
Andrew, 30, Teacher, 5km away, great facial hair, but doesn’t like cats? We all know anti-animal sentiment is the gateway drug for sociopaths. LEFT.
Zac, 35, Bartender, 15km away, claims to always share his hot chippies, and has encyclopedic knowledge of gin. Well, well, well… a gentleman and a scholar. RIGHT.
IT’S A MATCH! Better keep swiping though…
Eggplant or Love by Tanya Zerek
If this scenario is a little too familiar, don’t worry. You’re not alone. According to Survey Monkey (2021:para.4) a third of adults aged 18-44 years have used an online dating app. Of this figure, more than half view dating apps in a negative light, yet continue to use them in the quest for love, sex, companionship, friendship…
So, why can’t we break up with dating apps?
Rather than lead you on, I’ll be upfront: gamification. Gamification involves the use of game design, game thinking, and game elements to improve motivation and engagement (Dicheva et al. 2015:75). It is ultimately a means of replicating the kinds of physiological effects often seen in game contexts, in non-game contexts.
The rush of dopamine you get when “it’s a score”… I mean… “match”. The hours spent meticulously designing your avatar… I mean… profile. The anxiety you feel when deciding to quit the game… I mean… uninstall the app.
Although gamification is still in its infancy, it is flirting with the nexus position between tech developers and profit, due to its ability to engage consumers and achieve customer loyalty (Bohyun 2015:6).
Dating apps are the perfect proving grounds to test the ethical parameters of gamification, given we ‘will do anything for love’…right? Not quite. Just as Meatloaf had his limits, so too do consumers who are left feeling cheated by the heavily gamified and superficial design of the original dating apps.
Maybe it’s time we start seeing other dating apps…
That is the proposition of tech developer Alex Durrant, Jigsaw CEO and co-founder. Jigsaw is a dating app using gamified design techniques to encourage users to get to know their matches personalities before their appearance is revealed – piece by piece – behind a jigsaw puzzle. Yep, the clue is in the name…
If you’re not convinced Jigsaw will break the cycle of the infinite scroll, check out the innovative dating app Thursday from London based tech developer George Rawlings. Marketed under the tongue-in-check tagline ‘the dating app that doesn’t work 85.7% of the time’, Thursday only operates on one day a week (Pantony 2021:para.4). Once again, the clue is in the name. This gives consumers a six-day gamification/dating app detox, and a chance to focus on human connection.
When it comes to dating, chances are we didn’t get it right the first time. And the same principle applies to the industry of dating apps. The initial wave of dating apps were overzealous in their application of gamification. This has led to ethical problems like hyper-engagement and tech addiction, and it’s no surprise consumers are saying “we need to talk”.
Gamification ultimately requires a deeper understanding of the user, context, and behaviour (Morschheuser et al. 2017:13). So the trend of new tech developers in the dating app industry listening, and acting on consumer feedback is a positive step in the ethical direction.
Sunset by Tanya Zerek, 30 April 2021. Made with Canva
The era of dating apps V1.0 is over. Gamification is evolving in the industry, and V2.0 is characterised by a measured approach that considers an ethical balance between profit and a positive user experience.
So, perhaps the right one is out there after all.
In the meantime, I’m off to share a bowl of hot chippies and a G&T with Zac, 35, Bartender, 15kms away...
References
Bouyon K (2015) ‘The popularity of gamification in the mobile and social era’, Library Technology Reports, 51(2):5-9, accessed 27 April 2021.
Cheddar Now (7 November 2020) ‘Jigsaw Dating App Focuses On Conversation Over Selfies’ , Cheddar Now, YouTube, accessed 30 April 2021.
Dicheva D, Dichev C, Agre G and Angelova G (2015), ‘Gamification in education: A systematic mapping study’, Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18:75-88, accessed 28 April 2020.
Eggplant or Love by Tanya Zerek, 30 April 2021. Made with Canva
Messaging by Tanya Zerek, 30 April 2021. Made with Canva
Morschheuser B, Hassan L, Werder K, Hamari J (2017), ‘How to design gamification? A method for engineering gamified software’, Information and Software Technology, 95(?):219-237, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2017.10.015
SurveyMonkey (n.d.) Dating apps are common, useful—and widely disliked, SurveyMonkey, accessed 28 April 2021.
Pantony A (20 April 2021) ‘Spend too much time mindlessly swiping on dating apps? Thursday is the brand new app to help you find love – and it only works on one day of the week…’, Glamour Magazine, accessed 28 April 2021.
Sunset by Tanya Zerek, 30 April 2021. Made with Canva
