“Maybe the flood of apps has changed the very way we perceive the relation between life and technology. Are apps still designed to facilitate everyday tasks and help us experience life to the fullest? Or have they started adulterating and even completely replacing it altogether?”

In “The Dating Game” episode, Peter introduces Quagmire to Tinder, and it goes exactly how anyone who is the least bit familiar with Glenn’s sexual tendencies would think – he goes on a sexual rampage, deviant even for his own standards. And even though Quagmire using Tinder is like giving a diabetic kid his very own ice-cream truck, the exaggerated hypothetical scenario reveals a lot about the way lots of people use the dating app, or maybe even technology in general.

You know a dating app is overly simplified when even Quagmire’s approach to it seems overly sophisticated. Peter quickly walks him through the rules of this dating game, which as it turns out are exactly three.  Filling out interests, hobbies, presenting yourself in the most flattering, even unrealistic light – Tinder takes care of all that hassle. A bathtub picture, “casting a wide net” by swiping yes without even looking, mastering the emoji language of seduction. Quagmire is on his way.

For something designed to facilitate human interaction, ironically Tinder basically gets rid of it, at least here. No breaking-the-ice talk, flirty talk, dinner talk, in fact any kind of talk. Apparently, “an eggplant and an erupting volcano” seals the deal. Imagine if even Quagmire finds the world of Tinder “crude” in the beginning. But as you can imagine, he quickly succumbs to this universe where the undemanding sexual experience is king. At one scene, he and his date are even using the app during their “love-making.”

Soon after Quagmire completely loses touch with real-life dating, and reality altogether. In the space of one short Family Guy song, Tinder turns Quagmire into Gollum and becomes “his precious.”  We see him living like a “sex ghoul” in the darkness of his lair, waiting for “Heather within five miles.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwm0GbzKZxs

Luckily, in the end Quagmire manages to find his way back to “scumming it up in the real world.” However, a couple of questions still leave hanging in the air for the viewers to answer for themselves.

Can Quagmire’s behavior be considered sexual deviance, or just the new social norm, even though obviously exaggerated for artistic reasons? If current times were the product of an advertising campaign, the slogan could be “the easier and faster — the better.” Is it any surprise then that sex, human interaction and real effort also fall down in this category?

Maybe the flood of apps has changed the very way we perceive the relation between life and technology. Are apps still designed to facilitate everyday tasks and help us experience life to the fullest? Or have they started adulterating and even completely replacing it altogether?

Perhaps the message of “The Dating Game” doesn’t refer only to Tinder. Then again, Seth MacFarlane isn’t known for being particularly subtle, so who’s to say? The one thing certain is how he feels about Tinder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5hFSdSOdhc

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Improv comedy has a few golden tenants, and one of them is the theory of “Yes, and…” Basically, you are never supposed to say “no,” shut down, or otherwise redirect your partner from whatever scene or scenario they are constructing. Instead, you are to embrace it and build upon that world – “Yes, and…” Think about your past awkward conversations with strangers and all those times the momentum suddenly just stopped and neither of you knew what to say next. “Yes, and…” is designed exactly to fix this for comics, and it shouldn’t have any problem rescuing your Friday night. Start the conversation (“What are you doing this weekend?”), and whatever the response make sure not to derail it to something you want to talk about, or just say “sounds like fun,” or god forbid disagree. Simply accept the flow of the conversation, then build on it with your own story or even better more questions for them.

The next tool from the Improv toolkit is to be specific. To quote – “Details are the lifeblood of moving a scene forward. Each detail provides clues to what is important. Details help provide beat objectives and flesh out characters.” It is not nearly enough to tell your flirting partner that you are grabbing brunch with friends on Sunday. Tell where you are going, why you chose that location (are you excited about it?), and why those friends. All this detail is meant to give your target at least one item to latch onto and further the conversation.

These rule goes triple for when the flirting is going well and you have progressed your way to exchanges of innuendo. “Yes, and” your way in gradual steps to overt and blatant flirting and/or invitations…whether that be for dinner or for breakfast (if you catch my drift). Being specific with your flirting lets your partner know that these aren’t recycled lines and that you are paying attention to no one but them.

Comedians might not be our society’s paragon for dating prowess, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dip into their toolbox and pick any number of tactics and tips that they rely on to practice their craft. After all, few things get the heart racing faster than flirting, but being on stage is certainly one of them.

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Some have gone so far as to declare Tinder dead. It’s not. But it will never be the same as it was at it’s peak 6 months ago. From hookup app, to game, to cultural phenomenon, to burn out. It has been a wild ride. Now we are all pretty sick of the game. Pretty sick of the crazy conversations. Pretty sick of the “strategies” and opening lines. But it gets worse that just our collective ennui about the app.

Big changes are coming with the next update that is being released soon. Gone will be endless swiping – thus also say sayonara to gaming the system by swiping everyone right and then picking through. By restricting the number of swipes you are allowed per day, the Tinder folks are substantively changing the experience of the app and who it is targeting. They are also adding some new features, but none are as big a seismic shift as the limited swiping. The good days are over. Tinder is a pure dating app again, and this means a mass exodus is around the corner.

I’ve certainly done my time on the app. Haven’t we all. I was never one for the endless right swipe; I actually did pick through and swipe women I was even moderately interested in. Over several months on the app, I only ever went on one first date. There was no second date. Tinder has always been seen as a hookup app, and every conversation I had was pregnant with that spectre hanging over the discourse. Was the other person just looking for some afternoon delight? Is this person going to go loony toons on me and chop me up into chihuahua food? So like most of its users, Tinder has always been a game to me. But now the rules are changing and the only people who will stick around are the 30% heavy users. Tinder isn’t dead, but it’s all downhill from here.

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