Love, On Demand

Love, on demand. Maybe not quite what Tinder is going for, but the two concepts seem somewhat related. I like to think that one of the company’s founders or investors actually said or at least had the thought that This is totally going to disintermediate the relationship space. Not necessarily because that thought may in fact be true, but because it’s humorous to imagine the situation.

Would that thought be true though? It kind of is. It cuts out the “middle man,” and skips on past the laying of the foundation of a relationship. Casual hook-ups when and where you need them! The potential for instant gratification, brought to you by the same generation that spawned Uber, Airbnb, Spotify, and so many more companies that can deliver you the world at the click of a touchscreen.

Is there something else underlying its rise however? People like to hook-up, yeah yeah, whatever. And/or they just need to make some sort of physical connection with someone. As software continues to eat the world, people all over build these electronic walls to hide behind, using the computer as their lens to explore life. It’s so, so easy now to go a whole day without touching, let alone physically interacting with a single person. We’re more connected than ever before, yet we’re still isolated from each other, tethered to the social crutch that is the smartphone. So of course someone snapped and decided to develop a mobile platform that matches young people with other young people for non-committal romantic encounters (all the while giving said young people the chance to exercise their thumbs by swiping left, maybe even right).

Have relationships been forever changed in this age where owning a smartphone means always being available, always within reach to others through these social networks that we’ve built? It would be hard to argue that the game has not changed. It’s evolved to the point where physical connections are now optional, until whenever the involved parties decide to meet up and hook up. If they decide to. Until then it’s a vague undefined connection hanging in the digital ether. So turn away from the screen of your smartphone, look out around you, maybe there is someone there that wants to interact and make contact with another kindred spirit. Life’s better with company.