On October 4th, Tinder launched The Tinder Menprovement Initiative.
Tinder is the biggest dating app out there for millennials and it recently celebrated its fifth “birthday.” As a part of the Menprovement Initiative, Tinder launched an anti-harassment feature called, “Reactions”, which allows only women to select from animated responses, such as throwing a virtual martini or sending a sarcastic eye roll at disrespectful men on the app. The Reactions feature is a way of calling out immoral behavior.
Threats of sexual assault are not uncommon on dating apps, especially Tinder. Tinder says Reactions were created with the intention of fighting harassment on the app. Tinder has a “zero-tolerance policy” on abuse, yet it still happens all too frequently. The Tinder Menprovement Initiative is intended to give female users a way to combat this harassment.
Many are disappointed with the lack of policing Tinder is doing on their app. Some say the new Reactions feature is “a weak attempt to combat the most horrible male users.” Reactions doesn’t allow the ability for the male user to be blocked, so the probability of getting a profane response back is high. Men who were already disrespectful may not be compelled to change their behavior because of an animated martini thrown at them.
While The Menprovement Initiative was created with good intentions, it’s the general consensus that it’s not doing enough to keep online users safe. Tinder users everyday are verbally harassed, making the app unenjoyable for some. In the evolving technology era, we all need to work on creating a safe space on all social platforms. Just as catcalling isn’t okay, neither is online harassment. Tinder’s Menprovement Initiative is the first step to fixing a larger issue. Dating apps should be a safe space to meet new people, not an environment where vulgar men are dominating the scene. In the future, let’s hope Tinder improves their safety features for all users. Until that happens, go throw a virtual martini in someone’s face.
Source:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16418572/tinder-reactions-men-harassment-dating