Tinder: an ethnography of dating, socialities and experimentations

Abstract

This article discusses the process of searching and interacting through Tinder, a mobile dating app. Based on an ethnographic study of the affective-sexual experiences of its users, three dimensions of this process will be focused: how people present themselves (the profile), how they seek a partner (the selection), and how they begin to relate online (the conversation). Through these three dimensions, I observe the specificities of how the app is used, linked to technological agencying, experimentations of the self and communicative back and forth as important features of the experience made possible by the application.

Keywords:
Tinder; Experience; Affective-sexual relationship