Dating sites don't have to do anything intentional at all in order to keep people single and coming back to the site. It's really just a part of human nature: you become addicted to the attention and validation of OKCupid and those sites. You get a rush every time you see your notification light up pink--or buzzed on your smartphone--when you get a message.
From a thread on reddit why a guy was closing his account:
I think it's really similar to a gambling addiction. Pull the lever on the slot machine, pull the lever, pull the lever, reward! Send a message, send a message, send a message, reward!
It's easy for people to get hooked on the ups and downs, especially girls in their drive for validation. Some of the girls who flaked out on me after a couple dates, I had to laugh at these 5's and 6's who don't have their lives together rejecting me. It's all the attention on OKCupid they get addicted to and inflates their ego.
I mean, look at Plenty of Fish... they have the shittiest web design ever, like a 2006 MySpace page. And yet they're the biggest dating site in the world. Goes to show you don't even have to try as a dating site, it's the underlying mechanics of human behavior.
From a thread on reddit why a guy was closing his account:
Quote:Quote:
Sunday, I woke up to NINE notifications, four of them messages. I was elated.
That afternoon, I had no new messages. I was crushed.
I've stopped caring about my work, my hobbies, anything but turning that little mailbox pink. I have addiction issues. And that's not hyperbole -- I have nearly relapsed on my sobriety because of OkC.
I think it's really similar to a gambling addiction. Pull the lever on the slot machine, pull the lever, pull the lever, reward! Send a message, send a message, send a message, reward!
It's easy for people to get hooked on the ups and downs, especially girls in their drive for validation. Some of the girls who flaked out on me after a couple dates, I had to laugh at these 5's and 6's who don't have their lives together rejecting me. It's all the attention on OKCupid they get addicted to and inflates their ego.
I mean, look at Plenty of Fish... they have the shittiest web design ever, like a 2006 MySpace page. And yet they're the biggest dating site in the world. Goes to show you don't even have to try as a dating site, it's the underlying mechanics of human behavior.