海角大神

Hinge has 鈥渟wiped left鈥� on a culture of dating apps that they say fail to foster meaningful connections. Instead, they鈥檙e doubling down on efforts to help their users find genuine relationships.

The company, once a peer of Tinder, OkCupid, and Happn, has been pursuing a new look for the past nine months. Following user surveys and various pilots, the new service launched Tuesday, introducing a 鈥渟tory鈥� interface Hinge says sparks five times more conversations than in the past.

Some Millennials 鈥� the target market of the proliferation of dating apps 鈥� say they aren鈥檛 actually looking for relationships, but there may be many more who are. Hinge hopes to appeal to that demographic, and possibly even change the conversation about dating apps.

鈥淲ith the relaunch we hope we can pave the way for a new normal in dating culture that treats people with dignity and helps those bold enough to seek real relationships find what they鈥檙e looking for,鈥� Karen Fein, Hinge鈥檚 vice president of marketing, tells 海角大神 in an email, by Hinge co-founder and CEO Justin McLeod.

The company鈥檚 reincarnation was spurred by a 2015 Vanity Fair story that , saying they encourage a culture that has destroyed romance, dating, and relationships. The article prompted Mr. McLeod to reflect that, 鈥淲hen I started Hinge as the first social-media-integrated dating service in 2011, this was certainly not the world I imagined.鈥澛�

Soon afterwards, the company launched HingeLabs, a 鈥渦ser-led research division,鈥� and 鈥渟urveyed [their] users extensively about their experience with swiping apps,鈥� Ms. Fein says. They found that, though Hinge was considered the most relationship-oriented of the available apps, 70 percent of users wanted a deeper experience.

鈥淪o that鈥檚 what we set out to build: an app tailor-made for people who want more than swiping games,鈥� Fein explains.

In doing so, the company in some ways followed in the footsteps of dating sites. The online dating service eHarmony, which now boasts more than two million marriages, emphasizes long-term matches. As Marylyn Warren, wife of the co-founder and former CEO, told 海角大神 in 2005:

"Our whole focus is on putting people together, making compatible matches that have the possibility of the long term. If you want a date for Saturday night, we probably are just not the place to come."

Millennials are less likely to be found on these sites, thanks to what McLeod described as an unwillingness 鈥渢o join the Baby Boomer generation on expensive, old-fashioned websites.鈥� Dating apps, meanwhile, have become a mainstay of less serious relationships. Hinge hopes their new approach will help bridge that gap.

The pattern observed by HingeLabs is a change in the way society typically thinks about Millennials 鈥� but other studies support the finding that they want serious connections. In a survey conducted by the dating site Match, 59 percent of men and 49 percent of women believe in love at first sight. And 53 percent of never-married adults say they , while a further 32 percent are unsure, a 2014 survey by the Pew Research Group found.聽

So what鈥檚 holding serious relationships back? Some adults are not ready to settle down, Pew finds, while others say they are not in a good position financially. Seventy-eight percent of women said that finding a spouse or partner with a steady job would be very important, which is challenging given changes in the labor market that are limiting young men鈥檚 job prospects, according to Pew.

But much of the struggle is also finding the right person. Hinge鈥檚 new approach could be a way to address that problem, says Lori Gottlieb, a couples therapist and the author of 鈥�.鈥�

鈥淚t sounds like what Hinge is trying to do is say, 'You need to slow down鈥�you need to have some investment in contacting this person,'鈥� she tells the Monitor in a phone interview. In Hinge鈥檚 new interface, users interested in connecting with someone else "like" or comment on a piece of their profile, whether a photo or a response to one of Hinge鈥檚 "icebreaker" questions. That person then decides whether he or she is interested in pursuing a conversation.

Ms. Gottlieb explains that traditional dating apps are 鈥渁 great way to meet people, because people are so busy,鈥� and it鈥檚 hard to know where single people are, but that the apps can foster a tendency to treat dating like shopping. With too many choices, the whole experience can become overwhelming, she says. As a result, 鈥減eople are kind of over the whole Tinder model.鈥�

Hinge鈥檚 focus on deeper connections may help combat the 鈥減ervasive sense of loneliness and isolation鈥� that other dating apps don鈥檛 address, Gottlieb says. And the $7 fee to use the service may help create a community of people looking for something more substantial. (An estimated , contributing to its limited effectiveness at connecting people).

But the Hinge app鈥檚 success will ultimately be judged by how well it gets people to connect in person, Gottlieb concludes. 鈥淵ou really can鈥檛 know anything about a person until you鈥檙e face to face with them,鈥� she says, giving the example of young people she treats who develop relationships via text, only to discover that in person, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a completely different dynamic.鈥�