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[electronic beeping, buzzing]

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[indistinct chatter]

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{\an8}[narrator] February the 10th, 2021,

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{\an8}31-year-old Whitney Wolfe Herd
is ringing the NASDAQ bell,

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{\an8}taking her company public.

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{\an8}In an instant, its value skyrockets
to 14 billion US dollars.

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{\an8}Her highly successful company?

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{\an8}Bumble, a female-friendly dating app.

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{\an8}I downloaded Bumble on a random whim.

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{\an8}I was like,
"Okay, okay, we on to something."

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I mean, have you seen him?
I was so excited,

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and I could not wait to talk to him.

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[Karey] We are engaged,
soon to be married.

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Your girl did get the ring!

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[narrator] Bumble is just the latest
in a deluge of dating apps

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that have taken
the world of courtship by storm.

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Finding love may be one
of the most fundamental things in life,

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but the business
of helping people meet "the one"

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is also very much that, a business.

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{\an8}By 2020,
the top six dating apps in the world

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{\an8}are collectively worth
more than $80 billion.

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In America,

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almost half of 18-to-29-year-olds
have used a dating app.

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Why? Because it works.

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Almost 40% of online daters have found
a long-term relationship.

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But the path to true love can be bumpy.

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One-third of female daters report

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being called an offensive name
on a dating site or app.

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[alarm blares]

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And over half of all users admit
they've lied about themselves.

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For better or worse,

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dating apps have dramatically widened
the dating pool,

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helping us find love
outside our usual social circles.

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{\an8}Online connections right now

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{\an8}are the number one way
in which we're meeting spouses.

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[narrator] Now you can look for love
anytime, anywhere, with anybody.

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But when it comes to dating,

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are we now so focused on playing the game
that we're missing out on true love?

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[8-bit video game sound effects beeping]

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[8-bit music plays]

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Since the invention of computers,
people have been using them

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to try and find that someone special.

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{\an8}[foghorn blares]

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{\an8}In 1965,

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computers are huge mainframes
that fill entire rooms,

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tasked with solving
the most complex problems.

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And what's more complex
than finding true love?

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Enter New York City-based Project TACT.

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{\an8}TACT stands for
Technical Automated Compatibility Testing,

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{\an8}and it's a computerized dating service
for young people.

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[narrator] TACT's IBM 1400 series computer
is programmed to pair up clients

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{\an8}with similar backgrounds and values,

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{\an8}while identifying
what they're looking for in a partner.

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[phone whooshes, rattles]

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[clink]

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{\an8}TACT'S clients pay $5 and answer
more than 100 multiple-choice questions.

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Men are asked to rank drawings
of women's hairstyles.

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Women are offered sketches showing
where they prefer to find their partner,

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in a logging camp,

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in an art studio,

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or in a garage.

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The answers are transferred
onto a punch card

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and then fed into the machine,

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which spits out the clients' matches.

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{\an8}Blue cards showing suitable men,
pink cards showing women.

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[bells peal]

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{\an8}But the technology
doesn't always get it right.

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We've had some funny kinds of things
happening with our matching system.

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We've matched an older brother
with his younger sister.

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Uh, and that didn't work out too well.

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[narrator] By the late 1980s,

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computers have shrunk to a desktop,
and people are using them at home,

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along with a new invention that
can link them to strangers, the modem.

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[dial-up tone screeching]

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And naturally,

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when early users begin to meet
in online discussion forums,

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such as The WELL,
the first cyber romances blossom.

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My husband started this on The WELL,

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and in fact, on The WELL
was where I met him.

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[softly] Yeah. Yeah.

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I think we met electronically

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about six months
before we ever met in person.

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[narrator] Still, for most people,
using a computer to meet someone

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feels like science fiction.

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{\an8}By 1995,

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{\an8}the World Wide Web as we know it

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{\an8}is still just taking shape.

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But tech entrepreneur Gary Kremen
is quick to see the business potential

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of moving newspaper classified ads online.

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He registers the domain names jobs.com,

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autos.com,

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and, frustrated by his own inability
to meet a partner,

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match.com.

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Kremen launches
his new dating site that April.

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Singles pay just under $10 a month

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to build a profile

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and search its database
for suitable matches.

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At the time, only 14% of Americans
have Internet access.

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But in its first year,

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Match attracts 60,000 users.

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{\an8}You can look through a menu
of just hundreds of people,

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{\an8}and I thought,
"Well, there's not anybody there for me,

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{\an8}but I'm just gonna look for fun."

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{\an8}And I found his picture,
and I thought, "Ooh!"

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And then I read his profile,
and I thought, "Wow."

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"He sounds perfect for me."

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[narrator] All that searching
takes a lot of effort,

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not to mention time spent filling out
lengthy compatibility questionnaires.

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But Match's success inspires copycats
aimed at specific user groups,

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like Jdate for Jewish singles
and Gaydar for men seeking other men.

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Still, by 1998,

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only 5% of heterosexual couples
report having met online.

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{\an8}The numbers for same-sex couples
are a bit higher

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{\an8}but still hover at just 14%.

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For most people,
online dating isn't very cool.

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I'm young,
so I wouldn't consider doing that.

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And also, I don't wanna meet,
like, creepy people. [chuckles]

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But… I don't know,
I don't trust meeting people online.

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[narrator] But as the Internet expands
and connection speeds improve,

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more dating sites pop up,

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some catering
to very specific preferences,

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like one for facial-hair lovers,
stachepassions.com…

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♪ Mustache, mustache, candlelight ♪

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{\an8}[narrator] …horror movie fans…

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{\an8}On the screen behind me, you can see
a new member of Zombie Passions,

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{\an8}who enjoys long, slow walks in the mall

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{\an8}and brains.

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[narrator] …or those
"seeking arrangements"

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for sugar daddies
in search of a sugar baby.

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It's all about
just having that companionship

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and someone to be with.

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And that's how I look at it.

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So, you know, I had seen Jennifer
on the site before, and it's all about--

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Chloe!

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-You'd seen Chloe on the site before.
-Right. Yes.

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-Chloe.
-[laughs]

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[narrator] By 2006,

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11 years after its launch,

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match.com has
over 1.2 million paid subscribers.

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And despite catering
to a much smaller demographic,

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the website Gaydar
has 3.5 million male users.

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The Internet isn't just for geeks anymore.

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71% of Americans are now online,

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and 69% of Brits, leading
to some transatlantic love connections.

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{\an8}I definitely never thought
I'd meet anyone over the Internet.

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{\an8}In fact, I had some friends
that have met people over the Internet,

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{\an8}and I just wrote 'em off as nerds.

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In the future, I guess,
hopefully, we'll be together still.

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Oh, yeah. I definitely plan on it.

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She might ditch me
if she can get any American guy she wants.

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[narrator] Online dating services
allow international romances to bloom,

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but that's part of the problem, location.

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The person behind that cute profile

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might actually live
hundreds of miles away.

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But a new technological advance

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is about to help those looking for love
more locally.

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{\an8}In 2008,

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{\an8}Apple launches its iPhone 3G
with GPS capability.

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Now, our phone knows where we are

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and where everyone else is.

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Tech entrepreneur Joel Simkhai
immediately gets how this could change

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the dating game for gay men in particular.

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[Joel] It's a very big problem
in a gay man's life.

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{\an8}We don't always know who else is gay,

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{\an8}so, uh, you know, the smartphone
is a perfect piece of technology,

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{\an8}location-based, uh, services
was a… was a perfect match.

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[narrator] He calls it Grindr.

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Unlike older dating websites,

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Grindr doesn't focus on compatibility.

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It's more about proximity.

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Users see a grid of everyone nearby
who's recently logged in,

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listed by how far away they are.

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You decide who to contact.

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{\an8}Someone in the same city,

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{\an8}on a nearby street,

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or maybe even that guy across the bar.

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If you see someone you like,

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you can instantly find out
if they're interested.

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What happens next is up to you.

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[car horn beeps]

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Generally, the advances
are of a sexual nature,

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which… which doesn't mean
that all gay men are just, you know…

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just superficial beings looking for sex.

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It's just specifically what Grindr is,
is for… is for hooking up.

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[narrator] Despite, or perhaps because of,
Grindr's hookup reputation,

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it's a huge hit.

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One year after its launch,

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it's being downloaded
more than 2,000 times a day.

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Still, location-based dating apps
aren't catching fire

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among heterosexual couples,

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until a new player
completely reboots the game.

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{\an8}In 2012,

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{\an8}Tinder takes Grindr's hit formula
of proximity plus instant connection

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and adds a game-changing twist,

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the swipe.

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Swipe right if you like
the look of someone.

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Swipe left if you don't.

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{\an8}If they swipe right on you too,
the match is made.

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{\an8}Tinder changes everything.

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The swipe is rapid and instinctive,

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making online dating feel like a game.

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It's instantly addictive.

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And that's no accident.

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[celebratory 8-bit tune plays]

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00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,040
Company cofounder Jonathan Badeen

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admits he was inspired by the work
of behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner,

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who performed a series of experiments
in the 1940s and '50s.

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Skinner grouped rats into boxes.

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00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,960
In one box, if the rats pressed a lever,

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they'd get a consistent treat every time.

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But in another box,

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treats of different sizes
were delivered randomly,

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and sometimes, not at all.

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00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,320
These rats began to press
the lever compulsively,

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00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,960
far more often and for much longer
than the ones consistently rewarded.

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00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,560
This unpredictable outcome

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00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,560
is the same reason
slot machines are so addictive…

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00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,840
and why people
keep swiping right on Tinder,

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00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:15,280
hoping for a match.

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00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:22,400
Thanks to its addictive interface,

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just one year after its launch,

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{\an8}Tinder is getting
350 million worldwide swipes per day.

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{\an8}That's 4,000 a second.

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{\an8}Though many see it
as less of an app for finding Mr. Right

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00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,160
and more as one for finding Mr. Right Now.

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-What do you associate Tinder with?
-People that want to meet to hook up.

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-Just sex. Let's be honest.
-Hookups.

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00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:47,920
-[all chuckle]
-It's nothing else.

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{\an8}On Tinder, the pool is just crazy.

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{\an8}You get the whole world.
You know what I'm sayin'?

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{\an8}It's pretty much at your beck and call.
You swipe right for what you like,

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00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:00,240
swipe left for what you don't. I mean,
what's not to love about it? [chuckles]

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[narrator] Imitation apps quickly follow,

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00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,520
each with their own twist
on how to play the game of love.

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00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,200
{\an8}Hinge targets only people
seeking long-term relationships,

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00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,080
{\an8}while Happn narrows
the user's search radius

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00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,400
to people they've literally wandered past
on the street.

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00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:20,920
These gamified mobile dating apps

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prove a hit with an age group
who weren't that into it before.

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00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,320
Use triples among the under 25s.

241
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I think ten years ago, it's fair to say

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00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,680
that dating websites
were considered a bit sad

243
00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:36,600
and a bit pathetic,
and you only went on there

244
00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:38,560
if you couldn't find
a boyfriend or whatever.

245
00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,720
But now, like, all my straight friends,
90% of them, are on Tinder or whatever.

246
00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,840
{\an8}[narrator] By 2014, dating apps
are taking off across the globe.

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{\an8}In German-speaking countries,
the number one dating app is LOVOO.

248
00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,320
{\an8}[in German]

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In tiny Iceland,

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00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,840
with a population of just around 360,000,

251
00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,800
{\an8}Íslendinga-App lets you know

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00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,800
{\an8}if you're distantly related
to someone you're interested in.

253
00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,640
{\an8}[man] So now it says,
"Green light. Go for it."

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00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,960
{\an8}[narrator] The second most downloaded
dating app in the world

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00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,000
is the South American Badoo,

256
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,080
with 400 million users.

257
00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,680
That's 20% more
than the entire population of the USA.

258
00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,400
Now it seems dating apps are for everyone…

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00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:29,520
[reporters shouting]

260
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:31,200
…even the rich and famous.

261
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:33,360
There's a celebrity dating app.

262
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,440
-There is. It's called Raya.
-Raya.

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00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,560
{\an8}There's a couple celebrities
here and there.

264
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:39,760
{\an8}I'm on it just, like, to find Ben Affleck.

265
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:41,600
{\an8}I'm just swiping for Benny Boy.

266
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:43,800
[narrator] By 2017,

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00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,680
there are over 178 million
dating-app users worldwide.

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00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,200
With so many people swiping,
how can you stand out from the crowd?

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00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:57,800
[defeated 8-bit tune plays]

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00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,560
Turns out, there's quite a lot
you can do to improve your odds.

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00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,080
That all-important profile picture is key.

272
00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,800
{\an8}According to research
conducted by the app Hinge,

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00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:14,600
{\an8}women should smile with their teeth
and avoid looking straight at the camera,

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00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:18,000
{\an8}while men should look straight ahead,

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00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:20,960
{\an8}smiling with a closed mouth.

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00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,320
The best footwear
for winning right swipes?

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Sneakers.

278
00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:29,520
{\an8}They don't recommend posing on the beach.

279
00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,440
{\an8}And take off those sunglasses.

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00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,640
But the ultimate profile-picture no-no,

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00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,440
a bathroom-mirror selfie.

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-[camera shutter clicks]
-Post that, and it's game over.

283
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,520
[defeated 8-bit tune plays]

284
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,520
Your dating profile might be
more important than you realize.

285
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,160
Some dating apps track
how many likes a user gets

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00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,240
and presents them profiles
that match them in popularity.

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00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:59,880
So the more likes you get,
the better your chances become

288
00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:02,520
of getting matched
with another hot profile.

289
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,600
While most apps keep the special source
of their algorithm secret,

290
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,600
Tinder says that the best way
to improve your chances is simple.

291
00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:12,760
Keep swiping.

292
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,200
Of course, the more people swipe,
the better for Tinder's bottom line.

293
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,960
Analysts have suggested that the app
earns almost a third of its revenue

294
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,240
by selling packs of boosts,
as well as super likes

295
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,080
that help daters get noticed.

296
00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,240
And in 2017,

297
00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:35,400
Tinder rakes in a massive $403 million.

298
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,280
With swiping,

299
00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,120
these apps may not have discovered
the secret to finding love,

300
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,320
but they have found the perfect way
to keep everyone playing the game.

301
00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,000
Studies show that dating-app users
spend twice as much time swiping

302
00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:54,320
as they do messaging.

303
00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,640
In fact, actual human-to-human contact
has gone down.

304
00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,520
One study shows that
the younger generation is having less sex

305
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,960
than people their age were ten years ago,
before dating apps were invented.

306
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,280
One reason?

307
00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:14,880
The overwhelming selection
of potential mates on offer.

308
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,280
Over a third of dating-app users
in the United States

309
00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:21,600
admit to messaging
more than six matches simultaneously.

310
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:24,440
{\an8}My single friends,
whenever we go anywhere,

311
00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:26,120
{\an8}they're like, "It's the guy from Tinder."

312
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,680
{\an8}Then another will go,
"I went on a date with him last week."

313
00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:30,400
{\an8}Yeah! It's terrible.

314
00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,000
[narrator] And with so many
potential partners out there,

315
00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,360
it's easy to forget
that there are real people

316
00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,040
behind those profiles,

317
00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:41,960
resulting in a serious deterioration
of dating etiquette.

318
00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:48,560
Four out of five users on one dating app

319
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,560
admit they could not remember
the first name of their last right swipe.

320
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,080
And people's profiles
aren't always truthful.

321
00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,280
Studies show that over 40%
of users on Tinder

322
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,200
are already in a relationship.

323
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,120
Meeting in real life
doesn't guarantee good manners either.

324
00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,560
{\an8}22% of male users have used a swiping app

325
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:11,760
{\an8}while on a date.

326
00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,760
And one survey found
a fifth of Tinder users have been ignored

327
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,520
after sleeping with a match.

328
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,080
All this bad behavior is having
a huge impact on daters' mental health.

329
00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:30,040
Tinder users report
having lower levels of satisfaction

330
00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:31,800
with their faces and bodies

331
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,120
and lower levels of self-worth
than non-Tinder users.

332
00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:38,760
In a 2017 survey,

333
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:42,720
one in six singles admits
feeling addicted to dating apps,

334
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,760
and another study finds
77% of users feel regret

335
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:49,320
when logging into Grindr.

336
00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,080
There's also another reported downside.

337
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:55,560
It can be dangerous.

338
00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,160
More than half of women in a 2020 survey

339
00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,040
{\an8}say they don't think dating sites
are a safe way to meet someone.

340
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,480
{\an8}And 46% of female users have received

341
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,360
{\an8}an unwanted
sexually explicit image or message.

342
00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,120
19% of younger female users

343
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:21,640
{\an8}say someone on a dating site or app
has threatened to physically harm them.

344
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:29,320
And 88.8% of respondents
to a 2021 study done in Florida

345
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,520
reported at least one incident
of sexual violence

346
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,200
after using a dating app.

347
00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:39,640
The result?

348
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,400
Growing pressure on dating apps

349
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,200
to create safer environments
for their users.

350
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:46,920
At the start of 2020,

351
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,320
Tinder introduces safety features,

352
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,440
including a panic button
which alerts law enforcement

353
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,280
if anyone feels unsafe
while meeting a stranger,

354
00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,360
{\an8}and they now ask users to "think twice"

355
00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,080
{\an8}before they send
potentially harmful messages.

356
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:02,960
{\an8}On Bumble,

357
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,040
{\an8}now the second most popular dating app
in the US,

358
00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,840
only women can make the first contact
in heterosexual matches.

359
00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,720
And if there's no response
to a match within 24 hours,

360
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:15,560
the connection expires,

361
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,800
{\an8}hopefully eliminating unwanted messages.

362
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:25,040
In March of 2020,
as a pandemic unfolds around the world,

363
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,200
online dating proves a lifeline
for many singles.

364
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,560
During lockdown,

365
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,880
Tinder sees three billion swipes
in a single day.

366
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,160
Hinge has a 63% uptick
in the number of downloads,

367
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,080
while over on Bumble,

368
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,880
video calls increase by 70%,

369
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:48,480
all during a time
when people quite literally can't hook up

370
00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:49,880
even if they want to.

371
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,600
{\an8}People have seen
the true benefit of online dating.

372
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,200
{\an8}It's unlikely to ever revert back
to how it was.

373
00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,040
[narrator] Dating apps
may have turned love into a game,

374
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,280
still, there are lots of winners.

375
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:08,600
The first moment I saw you,

376
00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:10,560
I swiped right.

377
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:12,360
[laughter]

378
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:17,640
[narrator] In 1949, the most common way
Americans met their partners

379
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:19,440
was through family and friends.

380
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,880
Now, almost 40% of heterosexual couples
meet their partners online,

381
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,840
and among same-sex couples,
it's a massive 65%.

382
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:32,840
There may still be some risk involved,

383
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,040
and not everyone is looking
for Mr. and Mrs. Right,

384
00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:39,080
but perhaps you can meet
"the one" on a dating app.

385
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,280
Just make sure that once you've found
that someone special,

386
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:44,960
you put down your phone.

387
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,400
[downtempo electronic music plays]