1. 1. Stefanie Duguay, PhD Candidate Queensland University of Technology stefanie.duguay@qut.edu.au @DugStef Paper presentation for Controlling Sexuality and Reproduction University of Lethbridge August 12-14, 2015 Right swiping on Tinderellas Exploring a mobile dating apps regulation of identity performances
2. 2. Introducing Tinder https://vimeo.com/tinderapp/itstartshere
3. 3. Online dating users most concerned about misrepresentation and safety (Gibbs et al. 2011; Anderson, 2005) Dating apps intensify intimacy through proximity and immediacy (Blackwell et al. 2014; Hjorth, 2013) Through its design and promotional materials, Tinder frames this as the need for users to claim authenticity
4. 4. Theoretical Toolkits - Giddens The authentic person is one who knows herself and is able to reveal that knowledge to the other, both discursively and in the behavioral sphere (Giddens, 1991, p. 187) The self as reflexive constantly under revision but smoothed into a cohesive narrative to provide ontological security (p. 36) Intimacy - mutual disclosure of cohesive biographical narratives Image from Estoril Conferences
5. 5. Theoretical toolkits - Callon Actor network theory and objects as mediators (Latour, 2005) Sociology of translation (Callon, 1986): Problematization - identifies and defines the actors involved; Interessement - invoking interest from actors and stabilizing their identity; Enrolment - when actors accept their role in the situation; and, Mobilization - when actors perpetuate this framing of the problem and its solution to others. Image courtesy of iTunes
6. 6. The Walkthrough Method Interdisciplinary + ANT (Latour, 2005; Callon, 1998) Interrogates app: Technology Content Users Ownership & governance Business models (van Dijck, 2013) (Burgess, Light, & Duguay, 2015; Duguay, Burgess, Light, 2014)
7. 7. Problematization Problem: Concerns over misrepresentation & safety Solution: Meet REAL people. We use Facebook to make sure you are matched with real people who share similar interests and common friends. (Tinder FAQ, 2014)
8. 8. Facebook and the real name web Real names as symbolic tokens (Giddens, 1991) The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life (Facebook CPO Chris Cox, 2014) Creates a safer environment and holds individuals accountable
9. 9. Interessement Tinder users depicted as authentic Following day-to-day regimes as learned practices that entail tight control over organic needs (Giddens, 1991, p. 62) Giving rise to lifestyles that give material form to a particular narrative of self-identity (p. 81) Authenticity as displays of self-mastery, conditioning regimes to fit into lifestyles in the narrative of the self Image from Tinder
10. 10. Tinders marketing promotes normative regimes and lifestyles
11. 11. Enrolment We always saw Tinder, the interface, as a game (Sean Rad, Tinder co-founder in Stampler, 2014) Routine is fundamental to ontological security, providing coherence to day-to-day life and giving rise to rituals through which individuals rationalize their activities (Giddens, 1991) Users become enrolled in Tinder through its game-like design, which integrates the app into their everyday lives Image courtesy of iTunes
12. 12. User must conform to the rules of the game
13. 13. Mobilization Multiple actors perpetuate Tinders problematization of dating as the need for authenticity and its solution in Facebook and appeals to normativity. Image courtesy of College Humor
14. 14. Expert systems authoritative sources of technical knowledge that garner trust from individuals (Giddens, 1991) Reinforces Tinders framing (celebrities as archetypes of normativity) and elaborates on it (media panics can shape user behavior) From HilaryDuffVEVO From The Telegraph
15. 15. Overflowing Some users are resisting Tinders framing, showing that: Facebook is not enough to prevent unsafe or dehumanizing behavior Video: Tender Its how people meat
16. 16. Other social media can be used to criticize the apps normativity
17. 17. Conclusion For individuals who do not meet normative standards or who do not have Facebook-friendly identities, Tinders framing may affect their well being, safety, expression of sexuality and ability to find relationships. Current findings limited to app analysis and related materials Future research: Interviews and analysis of user practices
18. 18. References Anderson TL (2005) Relationships among Internet attitudes, Internet use, romantic beliefs, and perceptions of online romantic relationships. Cyberpsychology & Behaviour 8(6): 521531. Blackwell C, Birnholtz J and Abbott C (2014) Seeing and being seen: Co-situation and impression formation using Grindr, a location-aware gay dating app. New Media & Society 00: 1-20 (accessed 26 May 2014). Burgess J, Light B and Duguay S (2015) Studying HookUp apps: A comparative platform analysis of Tinder, Mixxxer, Squirt, and Dattch. ICA 65th Annual Conference: Communication Across the Life Span, 21-25 May, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Callon M (1986) Some elements of a sociology of translation: Domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St. Brieuc Bay. In: Law J (ed) Power, action and belief. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 196233. Callon M (1998) Actor-Network Theory - The market test. In: Law J and Hassard J (eds) Actor network theory and after. Oxford: Blackwell, 181195. Duguay S, Burgess J and Light B (2014) Dating and hooking up with mobile media: A comparative study of Tinder, Mixxxer, Squirt and Dattch. Digcult14: Making digital cultures of gender and sexuality with social media, 28 October, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
19. 19. References continued Gibbs JL, Ellison NB and Lai C-H (2011) First comes love, then comes Google: An investigation of uncertainty reduction strategies and self-disclosure in online dating. Communication Research 38(1): 70100. Giddens A (1991) Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Hjorth L (2013) The place of the emplaced mobile: A case study into gendered locative media practices. Mobile Media & Communication 1(1): 110115. Latour B (2005) Reassembling the social: An introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stampler L (2014) Inside Tinder: Meet the guys who turned dating into an addiction. Time. Available at: http://time.com/4837/tinder-meet-the-guys-who-turned-dating- into-an-addiction/ (accessed 1 September 2014). Van Dijck J (2013) The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Images on slides 3 & 17 are screenshots from #ItStartsHere
20. 20. Questions? I joined Tinder as a dog Joe Veix, 2014 Stefanie Duguay, PhD Candidate Digital Media Research Centre Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology stefanie.duguay@qut.edu.au stefanieduguay.com @DugStef