The Algorithms Keeping Us In an Endless Scroll for Love

If dating apps are ‘designed to be deleted’, Iain Overton explores why people still feel disconnected in their search for meaningful relationships

When Jo (not her real name) began online dating, she felt a rush of desire that had long lain dormant. In her 50s, and having left a marriage that was dead on its feet years before, she found herself, one London evening, downloading Hinge. 

With a few clicks, she fell down a rabbit hole that promised much and delivered something entirely different.

At first, she wasn’t prepared for the deluge of messages; the churn of compliments, the offers of romance; the opportunities for hook-ups that warmed her in ways unexpected.