Love at First Swipe: The Evolution of Online Dating
In 2019, Cupid’s arrow has a wifi connection.
Across the United States, online dating has become the second-most popular way to find a significant other, and we don’t just have Tinder to thank for that. Tech-savvy singles were looking for love online long before man ever walked on the moon.
So when did getting swiped replace getting set-up?
We’re taking a look back at the history of online dating.
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Let's go back to 1965...
In the fall of 1965, cuffing season was in full swing when two young, enterprising Harvard students used an IBM 1401 computer to create the very first computer-based matchmaking service in the United States.
Inspired by the paltry dating scene of post-war academia, the two men built a 75 question survey for love-hungry applicants to fill out. Singles would mail in their questionnaires (along with a $3 fee) and receive a list of computer-generated matches in return.
By 1966, Operation Match claimed to have 90,000 people using their services.
Three men using an IBM 1401 computer in Denver, Colorado in 1967.
As technology developed, so did the age-old meet cute. Access to computers and the Internet spiked during the 1980s and 90s, leading more and more people online. In 1995, the world’s first online dating website was launched in the form of Match.com. Lonely hearts rejoiced as they could now meet and flirt with potential matches without having to change out of their pajamas.
As the popularity of online dating has increased in the United States, so has the number of interracial couples, according to research from the National Academy of Sciences.
The first spike of interracial marriages occurred shortly after the launch of Match.com in 1995 and has continued to rise alongside the development of different dating platforms.
70% of same-sex relationships start online
The same can be said for those seeking same-sex partners, for which online dating has completely taken over as the number one origin point of new relationships.
When the gay dating app Grindr was introduced in 2009, it sparked what can only be described as a sexual revolution within the gay community.
The experience of finding a sexual partner was no longer akin to a shady backroom deal, it was as easy as opening an app on your phone. Grindr first appeared in the app store just six months after the launch of the iPhone 3G. Not only was it the first gay dating app, but the first dating app of its kind to use geolocation technology.
2000s social media BOOM
Lightning struck twice at Harvard when Facebook was founded in 2004; MySpace began one year earlier in 2003, and by the end of the decade, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn were all part of the digital lexicon.
According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of Americans are active on social media and one-quarter of the country is online “almost constantly.”
Coupled with the fact that a little over half of Uncle Sam’s kids are single, it’s no surprise that in 2012 when a little-known startup called Tinder was launched, an entirely new demographic of people took to online dating.
Modern Love: There's an App for That
Whatever taboo that remained of Internet courtship quickly fell to the wayside when technology-discerning 20-somethings started swiping in 2012. Just as Grindr opened the floodgates for the gay community, Tinder did for single millennials. Since its release, the app has garnered over 50 million swipe-happy users in more than 190 countries.
And Tinder is not the only screen people are staring at: Millennials spend an average of 10 hours a week on dating apps and the number of people using dating technology has more than tripled since 2013.
Dating App Dictionary
For the cynics out there who believe online dating is the antithesis of romance, not only is it the second-most popular way for couples to meet in 2019, but studies claim that meeting your significant other online leads to more satisfying relationships, shorter engagements, and lower divorce rates.
Love them or hate them, online dating platforms are here and by the looks of things, they’re not going anywhere. Dating for busy professionals? There’s It’s Just Lunch. Or maybe a platform that uses intelligent matchmaking. There’s Elite Singles.
In a happy relationship? Congratulations. Single? What a time to be alive! No matter what your thing is (beards, bacon, or bongs), trust us, there’s a dating app for you.
