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Posted: Post Date – 12:30 am, Tuesday – Aug 23, 22
By Vibhavari Desai, Moitrayee Das
Since its introduction to the Indian market in 2015, Tinder has become a popular dating app. It’s no surprise that nationwide lockdowns have seen a spike in usage: Approximately 31 million Indians used Tinder in 2020. According to a Tinder Pressroom release, on May 3, 2020, Indian users sent an average of 60% more messages than at the start of the lockdowns.
Tinder has successfully positioned itself as a smart and “aware” brand, one that is attuned to the needs of its audience. Several press releases indicate the different initiatives launched in the last two years: financing of women entrepreneurs; launch of the Museum of Queer Swipe Stories (in association with Gaysi Family); celebrating gay-owned businesses; and, facilitating conversations about consent.
Therapy Sessions
Similarly, in June 2021, days after National Mental Awareness Month ended, Tinder partnered with VisitHealth to offer free mental health resources to its users for a limited period. Until July 31, Indian citizens residing in the country could take advantage of up to two free therapy sessions from licensed professionals on the VisitHealth platform. Once a user’s free sessions expired, they could take advantage of unlimited sessions at a discounted rate until December 31. In addition to access to therapists, users were offered curated content. including mental health podcasts, guided meditations, and exercise videos.
Taru Kapoor, General Manager of Tinder & Match Group, India, explained the rationale behind launching the mental health initiative in a press release. Kapoor said: “The last few months have been particularly difficult, with nearly everyone dealing with heightened levels of grief, stress, anxiety and loss. […] [we] I hope that with this initiative, our members will find comfort in the fact that support is now just a click away on Tinder.”
A search for the keyword “mental health” returns three articles (discussing this initiative) and three product-related articles from the Tinder US newsroom. To be clear, taking care of users’ mental health is not the primary (or even secondary) concern of most dating apps and other companies, so we recognize that this was a good step in a different direction. However, the question remains: is it enough? Perhaps more importantly, is this what we need?
contentious relationship
Dating apps have a controversial relationship with mental health. Numerous studies (eg, Beauchamp et al, 2017; Holtzhausen et al, 2020; Lenton-Brym et al, 2021) have indicated that frequent and prolonged use of dating apps tends to negatively affect users’ mental health. However, this is not an issue unique to or caused by dating apps: similar issues are reported by users of social media platforms (eg, O’Reilly et al., 2018).
Thus, while neither Facebook, Instagram, Twitter nor Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, could induce negative effects, these spaces can exacerbate existing insecurities. In a decade of its operation and even in response to criticism of security and privacy violations, the mental health of its users has not figured into Tinder’s policies. One could argue that his 2021 initiative was a corporate strategy.
Furthermore, a short-term response will not ‘solve’ or ‘fix’ the mental health crisis; long-term structures are one of the many things we need. To be clear, Tinder wasn’t claiming to solve a problem, it was simply offering support. However, two free and unlimited discounted therapy sessions do very little to care for people whose mental health might also be affected by their service.
systemic problems
In times of crisis, and the world has been on red alert for a long time, conversations about mental health cannot be restricted to one day, one month, or the occasional corporate scheme. It has to be an ongoing effort, especially now because grief, anxiety, depression, illness, languishing, were never and never will be individual problems; they are rooted in systemic problems, inadequate policies, and weak and overburdened health infrastructure. Nothing exists in a vacuum, every action has a consequence for both the participants and the (reluctant) spectators.
Even if Tinder (and other companies) are genuinely interested in the mental health and well-being of their users, they should weigh their decisions (such as partnering with VisitHealth) and make those insights available and accessible. How successful was that initiative? How many users signed up for the free therapy sessions? How many users opted for the discounted sessions? On average, how many sessions did users attend? How were the authorized professionals chosen? Did users provide feedback on the quality of the sessions? How were complaints addressed? If Tinder or a different company were to (re)launch a similar initiative (hopefully in the long term), the transparency of this information helps stakeholders create better systems.
While Tinder’s efforts have not been enough, its mental health initiative demonstrates the willingness of companies not traditionally involved in the mental health industry to get involved. As we think about the structures and nuances of therapeutic interventions, it is important to reflect and consider such initiatives as integral dialogues in an endless conversation. Traditionally, the responsibility for coming up with (effective) solutions often falls on the shoulders of licensed professionals, doctors, academics and educators, legislators and social workers, among others. What Tinder presents is an opportunity to rethink the role of other stakeholders.
(Vibhavari Desai is a writer interested in mental health and cyberspace. Moitrayee Das is assistant professor of psychology at FLAME University, Pune)
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