Tinder creates microsite to educate netizens about consent

The COVID pandemic has prompted people, including Tinder members, to be more introspective. It has led to online interactions and personal portrayal becoming honest and authentic, as stated in Tinder’s Future of Dating Report, released earlier this year.

It brought up more discussions of personal boundaries and initiated conversations about consent within the app. Tinder members used their bios to make their expectations clear. The word ‘boundaries’ is being used more than ever (up 28 per cent year on year), and the term ‘consent’ rose 21 per cent. A global survey of 18-24 year olds in 2020 by Tinder highlighted Gen Z felt consent was a topic that needed more conversations within society.

“Consent is key in all interpersonal relationships. As the largest dating app foundationally built on consent, we intend to be a strong ally in promoting the need to have an open, honest and compassionate conversation,” said Taru Kapoor, GM, Tinder & Match Group, India. “This initiative builds on the safety products and resources that are available on Tinder. It reaches out to the community with a mission to build a safer dating culture and a respectful member ecosystem with a conversation series.”

On this partnership with Tinder, Kevin Lee, editorial lead, Yuvaa Originals, added, “Growing up, young people in India haven’t been encouraged to communicate openly about personal boundaries, especially around dating, sex and relationships. Much of this conditioning comes from our sex education in school (or lack thereof). But whatever the reason may be, as the love stories of young India move more online than offline, it’s more important than ever to understand how to navigate consent.”

“Through this partnership with Tinder, we’re trying to teach everyone what consent is without shaming, or judging them for having ‘basic’ questions. We hope that we’re helping foster more respectful, enthusiastic connections and relationships.”

“We are thrilled to associate with Tinder to create this much-needed resource centre. When a platform like Tinder spreads awareness about consent, it helps the youth realise that consent is sexy. It is not awkward and certainly not a taboo. I would encourage people to go through the resource centre, which is housed with answers to all your questions about consent and its legal boundaries. Use the Swipe feature to your heart's content, but with consent,” shared advocate Manasi Chaudhari, founder and CEO, Pink Legal.

Built on the premise of mutual consent, Tinder has changed the way people make new connections with the introduction of the double opt-in Swipe feature. Other features provide members with complete control over who they interact with, setting the pace and intent of each interaction, while reserving the right to withdraw consent at any time.

Many features have now become the standard for the industry, as daters, overwhelmingly, value the choice, control and agency that Tinder brings to them, not always available in the physical world. Tinder’s new initiative is a step forward to educate and normalise conversations in the community around understanding consent, appreciating personal boundaries and challenging assumptions.