Seconds Away from Meeting Your Forever Spouse

By: Summer Martinez

Jen and Ben, married in 2014 after meeting on Tinder. Photo Credit: elitedaily.com

Tinder announced last month that it would be making big changes to their mission statement. Last week, on March 22, 2019, Linda Oskiovinska, Tinder’s Executive Representative for Media Management and Platform Engagement, shared on Twitter that the app will now be targeted towards users who seek meaningful relationships leading into marriage.

Oskiovinska disclosed that Tinder, as we’ve known it: an app for flings and bad dates, has decided to switch things up to appeal to more career-distinguished youth.

Oskiovinska, 47, remarked on Twitter last Friday, “Millennials deserve to experience love, to find their spouses at a healthy age while they’re in their twenties”.

The people behind Tinder have expressed that the app aims to now be a safe place for young people to engage in serious partnerships; whereas other dating apps and sites, like eHarmony and Match, are targeted for people in their mid-30’s and above.

Tinder representatives have shared that they no longer want to be associated with other ‘quick-meet’ dating apps that have been on the rise in the last few years, such as Bumble and OkCupid, who have been criticized by some users as apps that encourage people to behave sleazily and express morally unjust approaches to sex-and-relationship chatting.

Oskiovinska took some heat on Twitter from users who are unhappy about the changes being made.

Shortly after her mission statement announcement, she released multiple tweets, one stating, “Social media and technology as a whole, in this age, have been [serving] as a barrier for youth to communicate and date in meaningful ways … we are fixing this”.

This statement, however, did not halt the thousands of negative comments on Oskiovinska’s Twitter account. The typically conservative Tinder representative, who worked with Tinder since the app released in 2012, let out an opinionated tweet in response to the backlash, claiming, “Millennials are fucked”.

Oskiovinska was promptly fired from Tinder afterwards. Ean Reed, one of Tinder’s founders, stepped in on Twitter and appeared on the CBS news channel, to re-express and confirm that aside from the backlash of some users, Tinder is officially to be regarded as an app for people primarily in their 20’s to search for their future spouse.

While it is taking time for some of the updates to span across certain mobile devices (Apple iPhone users may experience delays), many Tinder users are already experiencing some of the new major changes to the app.

Since March 29, 2019, the app now features a silver ring icon as the new ‘super-like’, in place of the blue star symbol. Users are also now required to fill their bios with a minimum of 200 words, that should detail about themselves and what they seek in relationships, instead of overly-simplified one-sentenced bios that users have normalized.

Popular emojis used to indicate certain fetishes and desired sexual arrangements will no longer be allowed. Unicorns and Eggplants (among other emojis) are banned from use.

So, if you’re looking for an easy platform to use to find your soulmate, look no further, Tinder’s got you covered! Say goodbye to semi-strange last-minute hook-up’s, and hello to meaningful relationships.

With 60+ million Tinder users around the world, of which 5.2+ million users live in New York, you’ll be sure to snag your one-and-only lover for life in no time. Tinder is revolutionizing dating in a way we didn’t see coming, but (as many have expressed, apart from the kickback) in a way we’re glad has arrived.

And, congratulations to NY based couple Ari & Jaden, who set the tone for Tinder’s new mission statement and wed, Vegas-style, after meeting on Tinder just two days after the app’s updates!