Tinder has been around for less than three years, and it has become a staple in the dating and hookup scenes of 20-somethings everywhere. Although the app is way more popular with the younger crowd, there are obviously plenty of users in their 30’s and older that use the app as well. But those numbers might start dropping once the new Tinder Plus app makes its way over to Canada.
The recently launched Tinder Plus offers a few new features including Passport, which allows you to change your location, and therefore the people you are able to connect with. The feature gives you the option to start swiping through potential hookups (or possible “real one-on-one connections”, according to the website) before you even arrive in a new city. That means no more wondering whether you will have to spend the night alone in the hotel room your company paid for during your next business trip.
The Rewind feature gives you the option of “taking back” your last swipe. Sometimes you get so in the zone of rejecting everyone based on their looks, that you accidentally swipe left for someone you are actually attracted to. These two new features pretty much guarantee that you will never come to the end of potential matches, because if you do you can always just give them another look, or switch locations.
But if you are interested in these features, it isn’t going to come for free, especially if you are over 30. The app has launched in the US, and currently the cost for users under 30 is $9.99 per month, but if you are over 30, you will be charged $19.99 per month. That’s right, Tinder is unapologetically ageist. Not that surprising, considering dating in general is pretty age obsessed itself.
Tinder’s vice-president of corporate communications, Rosette Pambakian told Mashable, “lots of products offer differentiated price tiers by age, like Spotify does for students, for example. Tinder is no different; during our testing we’ve learned, not surprisingly, that younger users are just as excited about Tinder Plus, but are more budget constrained, and need a lower price to pull the trigger.” So according to Tinder, the price disparity is nothing more than a kind of student discount. While it may be true that older users have more disposable income to spend on something like a dating app, what does that say about what Tinder thinks of its older users’ priorities?
Early to mid 20’s are the target demographic for the app anyway, and the prices for Tinder Plus are clearly catered to them. But why alienate the older crowd in the process? Whether they intended it or not, it comes across like Tinder is saying that over 30 singles are desperate enough to pay way more for a dating app, but get nothing special in return for the extra money they are forced to shell out.
Over 30 singles are generally more willing to settle down, and are looking for something beyond a one night stand. Those singles most likely aren’t even on Tinder in the first place, because it’s widely known to be a hook up app, and that isn’t what they’re looking for. Sure, it’s possible to find a real connection on Tinder. Anything is possible. But chances are, you aren’t going to find someone worth more energy than what a swipe left or right takes. In dating, like in life, you get out what you put in, and Tinder just attracts people who don’t want to make an effort.
Even if you are over 30 and had pretty good luck on the free version of Tinder, the paid version will only serve to weed out all the decent women who were on there for the slim possibility of love. Because women don’t have to pay to find a hookup. They can just go to a bar, and wait for the offers to roll in. And if they are willing to pay to find love, Tinder isn’t going to be their first choice.
If you are over 30, and killing time swiping left, left, left, right, left, left on a daily basis, you need to find a hobby. Spend that $20 a month on something that will actually make you dateable. You aren’t 21 anymore, so stop acting like it.
