Why Swiping Doesn’t Work

As a digital designer, if I had a penny for every time I heard these 2 things being mentioned I’d quit, buy a case of Chateau Latour Grand Vin and live on a yacht.

The first one is ‘can you make it like Pinterest?’

The second is ‘can you make it like Tinder?’

The first one has the power to elevate any item, to make it special and collectable. Which is good.

The second one reduces someone down to a swipe. Which is bad.

While I have no problem with what Tinder does. I am disagree with the way it treats people. We go to great lengths to learn how to appreciate somebody beyond how they look. We are taught that a person is a complex and constantly changing thing that needs to be treated with care. We are after all, sensitive instinctive creatures.

The process of making a judgement about liking someone is a full body experience. Over a period of time we will use body language, sight, smell, our hearing and touch to subconsciously gauge another person.

I’m not just talking long term relationships either. Your impressive battery of senses works automatically. Trust your instincts and you can get a good bead on someone very quickly.

When it comes to people, we are in danger of denying our instincts.

This type of swipe left or right interaction is very alluring. Who wouldn’t want to be served our choices on a plate then, choose with a flick of the thumb? Don’t get me wrong, there are some situations where this mechanism would be perfect. Imagine ordering food or planning holiday activities like this?

However when it comes to people. We are in danger of denying our instincts and losing vital steps in the way we have evolved to connect with each other.

Right now, we are living in a communication crisis. We have never been more connected yet more out of touch with each other. While we place more and more of our lives in the hands of our technology. We will compromise our instinctive ability to connect and empathise with each other.

The good news is that we can bring humanity back into our digital landscape. CrowdEmotion recognise, interpret and respond to emotions globally and at scale. We see an emotionally intelligent future built to care and serve people. A future where our technology speaks the same language as our instincts.

To ask about CrowdEmotion UX testing solutions at info@crowdemotion.co.uk.

To unlock emotion recognition, interpretation and response visit our API Demo.

Or find out more at our site www.crowdemotion.co.uk.