Swiped: Hooking up in the digital age truth or exaggeration?

HBO’s documentary “Swiped: Hooking up in the digital age” was a recently released film that probes and questions the dark side of current hook-up culture and dating apps.

The docudrama comprises mainly of interviews of 18-25 year olds, candidly recounting their experiences with dating apps, namely Tinder.

Most of the people who were interviewed were slightly to very drunk, however most of the stories that the sources presented followed the same path. A date was met, alcohol was involved, hooking up on the same night was a common occurrence and then never speaking again.

While the film is a bleak representation of what digital dating is like, it does highlight some cases where women have been sexually or violently assaulted.

The film also briefly touches on some safety rules, namely

• Never be in a private location with a stranger
• Always meet in public
• Don’t mix alcohol with a first meeting
• Always tell someone where you’re going
• Never get into someone’s car

We think this is a poor message to send. While the film highlights the dangers of online dating and paints a dark picture of what digital dating like, it’s irresponsible to tell women that they can avoid being sexually assaulted by simply performing the listed actions.

These are great tips for ensuring safety however the contrast between this, and a scene about a young man who ‘orders’ girls to his doorstep every night, shows that wider society still blames women for sexual assault ‘happening’ to them.

When the film ends, it seems that Tinder and other dating apps have been sufficiently vilified that you’re expected to delete everything and begin meeting people ‘organically’.

However, hook-up culture in this digital age isn’t going away anytime soon.

We think it’s more important now than ever that people are staying safe and dating smart.

 

M.Y