How many people are on Tinder? A fuckload

A team strategizes at the Tinder office in West Hollywood. Photo:  Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times


A team strategizes at the Tinder office in West Hollywood. Photo: Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

An awful lot of love-hungry people use Tinder, and they use it intensely and compulsively. reports Nick Bilton in a New York Times profile.

"The company said that, on average, people log into the app 11 times a day. Women spend as much as 8.5 minutes swiping left and right during a single session; men spend 7.2 minutes. All of this can add up to 90 minutes each day."

Why is Tinder doing so well on engagement stats, compared to "we'll find your mate with an algorithm" sites like Match, OK Cupid, and EHarmony?

All that really matters, according to scientific researchers I spoke with from Northwestern University and Illinois State University, at least in the beginning of relationship, is how someone looks. (Of course, these companies disagree.)

Before you throw your hands in the air and proclaim that such a statement is indicative of today's degenerating society, what's happening on Tinder is actually a lot more complicated.

"When was the last time you walked into a bar and someone said, 'Excuse me, can you fill out this form and we'll match you up with people here?' " said Sean Rad, co-founder and chief executive of Tinder, referring to the questionnaires on most dating sites. "That's not how we think about meeting new people in real life."

Read the rest of Nick's profile, on which I'd totally swipe right.