New Media New Society?
Right of Men to Hook Up: an Analysis of Tinder’s Architecture And Its Cultural Interpretations In Turkey
Gözde CöbekOnline dating has become a worldwide trend and influenced the dating landscape since Tinder. The predominantly Western literature generally criticizes how dating technologies have commodified dating while paying less attention to how these technologies are used in and affected by different cultural settings. By regarding Tinder as an algorithmic cultural object, this research concentrates on the interaction between technology and culture and aims to understand through Tinder’s design how it is used and interpreted in Turkey, as well as how it affects and is affected by this specific cultural setting. To this end, the study uses the walkthrough method, which consists of analyses of the app and related content. The article argues that Tinder’s simple sign-up and profile decoration processes, GPS functionality, and swiping feature, which reduces partner selection into a yes-or-no binary format, encourage an understanding of Tinder as a hookup app. The paper demonstrates how this social understanding has unequal effects on users in Turkey, as the hookup practice is primarily socially constructed as a men’s right. On one hand, men view Tinder as a legitimate place to hunt women and enjoy this right. On the other hand, while enjoying the limited agency the app provides, women must also cope with the symbolic category of “that kind of woman,” which reduces female Tinder users to sexual objects. The paper draws attention to how technological affordances and changes are limited by the codes, norms, and terms of the cultural setting in which technological tools are used.
