History often revolves around a spinning door as events of the past spring up time and time again. Creatures of habit rarely change. Change is often merely manipulated versions of the original. For humans, the relentless cycle of consistency has perfected itself through centuries of practice and has recently taken to simply digitizing itself for the ease of consumption. This remains true for several categories, such as bullying, education, and especially to dating.

The realm of dating has drastically evolved in terms of how people have learned to interact in effort to find partnership. It began with limited courtship, which transitioned to casual dating, before pixelating completely into virtual interactions. The past was limited to quiet meetings in the parlor that was tightly regulated through supervision from the parents (Gardner, 2007). These relationships were micromanaged in order to ensure maximum social status and economic benefits were obtained for both parties involved, (Gardner, 2007). Meanwhile, the mid 1800’s saw a shift towards casual dating with the rise of the automobile industry and World War II. As transportation became more accessible, and the population of men started waning due to war, more women were using their opportunities to participate in casual outings with men (“The History of Dating in America”, 2018). Similarly, the shift towards online dating occurred with the growth of technology; as phones and computers became common belongings, the ability to reach others, regardless of time or distance, became plausible.

Despite these momentous revolutions in the dating scene, the underlying foundations for the beginning of a relationship has largely remained the same. As mentioned before, change is merely just a manipulation of the original; likewise, although the outer technique for how couples meet have transformed, the underlying qualities that connect individuals have remained the same. Sean Rad, a co-founder of Tinder, said, “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?’” (Bilton, 2014). Though many claims have been made about the deteriorating quality of relationships with the creation of online dating profiles, the central focus of these companies purely highlight the methods people have used for centuries: an attempt to put their best foot forward.

Since the dawn of time, humans have created a superficial presentation of themselves that draw out their strengths, such as income, appearance, or social status. This is biologically an inherent aspect of humans as the best competitors are quite often awarded with the best prizes. According to Nichi Hodgson in her book, The Curious History of Dating: From Jane Austen to Tinder, people in the past used to post in newspaper columns in attempt to attract a partner. These listings included descriptions of their family status and income (Hodgson, 2017). Apps such as Tinder merely mimic this historical method of presenting oneself to others in effort to attract like-minded or similar partners. Jessica Carbino, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, has also presented data that revealed the hundreds of visual cues that are utilized by users of Tinder when deciding to swipe. From body posture, clothing style, and facial expressions, users utilize thousands of interpretations in order to determine compatibility. This has not changed in centuries. Humans continue to analyze others, whether digitally or in-person, in attempt to find the most well-suited partner. Qualities of people, and the desire to surround oneself with like-minded people have not changed, and most likely never will. Humans are creatures of habit, and habit says to swipe to your desire!