How Tinder changed Australian dating scene as app turns 10

Millions of Australians have seen their dating experiences transformed by apps over the past decade, for better or worse.

Most Australian singletons know dating apps have completely changed how love is found and developed – for better or worse.

It all began a decade ago when Tinder launched in September 2012 and revolutionised how people make romantic connections.

Since then, a slew of similar offerings has followed, leading to countless Aussies meeting their significant others and a heap of people left to share their dating horror stories.

For Melbourne couple Matthew and Sharon, who are both in their 40s, a chance meeting on the app in 2017 led to a whirlwind romance neither of them were expecting.

Sharon and Matthew met on Tinder.

Matthew was divorced and a dad to two teenagers and Sharon had had her fair share of bad luck on Tinder already and was ready to stop the search for love.

“I wasn’t looking for a serious partner at the time,” Matthew said.

“I’d come out of a long term marriage and it had been a positive split. I had been single for probably four years and decided, ‘I’ve got to give this dating thing a go.’

“Whereas Shaz had been on Tinder, had been on numerous dates for a long period of time.”

For Matthew, he struck gold quickly, with his first ever Tinder date his future wife.

“I set up my profile on Tinder the Sunday before our date the following Friday and it was my first ever date on the app,” he said.

“I paid for the premium service and it gave me more visibility to see who had swiped on me.

What was fantastic was that she matched with me, which was even more extraordinary.”

The couple had differing success on the app before meeting.

However, little did he know, Sharon was ready to throw in her dating towel before the pair had even met.

“We decided to catch up for a date on the Friday night and I was nervous, but she’s rocking up thinking ‘this is my last ever Tinder date’. She didn’t expect it to work and wasn’t going to go on dating apps anymore,” Matthew said.

“Sharon said she was going to get a dog, buy an apartment and she’s going to live the single life.

“She only actually rocked up because her friend said ‘just go, this guy looks alright’.”

Halfway through the date, Sharon messaged that same friend and said “he’s brilliant” and the rest was history.

In fact, Matthew said the night went so well, he and Sharon had four dates that weekend and have “been together ever since” before marrying in April 2022.

But not everyone in the couple’s social circle has been so lucky in love on the apps.

“Shaz has a few friends who are single who haven’t had nearly the same success,” he said.

“One of her friends might go on two dates a week and she uses Tinder, Bumble or other apps.”

The pair met in 2017 and married earlier in 2022.

Tinder is used by millions of Australians. Picture: Tinder

Both outcomes have been experienced by countless Australians of all ages looking for love.

More than 3.2 million Aussies actively used Tinder in 2020, according to Statista.

This came after the app claimed to have had 15 per cent of Australians as users in 2017, which made up 4.18m people.

In total, it reports 530 million global downloads and 75 billion matches.

Relationship coach Debbie Rivers agrees dating apps can also leave users in less than ideal or even unsafe situations.

“How people behave online, they’d never do if they met face-to-face,” she told 2GB.

“There can be a lot of bad behaviour on dating apps.”

Ms Rivers advises people to be honest about themselves when trying to find love online.

“People can put pictures on there that are 10 years old and misrepresent their age or weight or body type, but people will find out as soon as they meet you,” she said.

“And you’ve got the darkside with Twinder swindler and cat fishing and all of that stuff.”

Matthew’s advice for users looking for love is similar – show up as you are in real life.

“I put up exactly who I was on my profile and Sharon put up exactly who she is; we are still the people we said we were on our profiles, nothing has changed.”

“You have to use these apps for the right reasons and you have to be aligned. If you’re going on and wanting to have a meaningful relationship, again, if we’re aligned, it works.

“It’s simply misaligned which is why things might fail. Dating apps aren’t the only way to go, but it’s probably the fastest way to get there.”

Tinder arrived in Australia in 2012 and steadily grew in popularity before the likes of Bumble and Hinge launched several years later.

Now the app is the starting point for 1.5 million dates per week globally, according to a spokesman.

Originally published as How Tinder changed Australian dating scene as app turns 10