The Paradox of Choice

Dating apps gave us unlimited options. You can swipe through hundreds of potential partners in an hour. And yet, people are lonelier than ever. What happened?

The paradox of choice kicked in. When you have five options, you pick one. When you have five hundred, you keep swiping forever, convinced someone better is just one more profile away. The apps turned dating into a game of optimization when human connection is inherently messy and inefficient.

The Commodification of People

Dating apps turned human beings into products. You are not a person โ€” you are a profile with stats. Height, job, interests, photos. We judge people in milliseconds based on curated highlights. The depth of a human soul reduced to a split-second swipe decision.

And we wonder why everyone feels disposable. Why ghosting became normal. When you view people as infinite options, no single person feels worth the effort of honest communication.

The Algorithmic Dating Pool

Apps claim to match you with compatible people. But their business model depends on you staying single. The longer you swipe, the more ads you see, the more premium features you buy. They are not incentivized to help you find love โ€” they are incentivized to keep you searching.

Breaking the Cycle

Delete the apps. Seriously. For a month. Meet people the old way โ€” through friends, at events, in classes, at coffee shops. It is slower and scarier and way less efficient. But you might actually find a connection instead of another almost-date that fizzles into ghosting.

Or if you keep the apps, be intentional. Limit your swipes. Have actual conversations. Meet in person quickly instead of texting forever. Treat people like humans, not options.