Tinder was a paradigm shift. It’s success around 2015 started to flip public perception of online dating. Suddenly it was for all kinds of young people that were looking for the convenience of profile matching. A rising tide lifts all boats so legacy platforms shared in the popularity, also getting runoff from the non-target audience of the newer apps. The change in perception of online dating allowed people to appreciate its pragmatism. We’re in an age of busy people optimizing their lives. The structure and accessibility of online dating just fits with those kinds of people.

In school I had a physics teacher who thought it was a good idea one day to use whiteboard markers on the glass windows instead of the whiteboard. I didn’t learn anything that lesson.