Dark side of the dating apps: With particular reference to the racial

bias and discrimination

Chapter 1
1.1. Background
Online dating has become the key elements in the life of present people. There is the growing
number of dating apps users every year all over the world, especially in USA. As per the Pew
Research Center, 30% of the adults of USA use a dating apps or website at some point and that
number is growing every year. But as adoption of these platforms grows, there are concerns
about racial discrimination in online dating. Many dating apps allow users to filter potential
matches by race.

This research paper talks about several impacts of dating apps in promoting racial and ethnicity
bias and discrimination. Researchers at Cornell University found that this practice of racial and
ethnic filters promotes racial discrimination and biasness. It has been found that 96% of users
viewed at least one profile that in some way involves racial discrimination. This practice has
caused biasness by including someone's race to describe themselves. Although partner
preferences are the matter of personal preference, such culture influence our preferences and aid
in impacting free decisions. “Such features aid and abet prejudicial modes of thought and
action,” said Jevan Hutson, lead author of the study titled “Debiasing Desire”. Thus, the presence
of such filter have harass the minorities groups and hence dating apps should discourage
discrimination by providing filters other than race and ethnicity to describe people.

1.2. Research Questions

a) Do dating apps promote racial bias and discrimination?
b) What is the present situation regarding the ethnicity filters in different online dating
apps?
c) What could be the solutions to reduce the harsh consequences arising the racial and
ethnicity filters of dating apps to minorities?
 Chapter 2
2.1. Introduction

Online dating and relationships has been a vital parts of our society in the present days.
According to the recent research of Pew Research Center report on online dating, 30% of the
adults of USA use a dating apps or website at some point. Similarly, 12% of the US adults found
a long term relationship through dating apps. However, though there is such growing number of
users of dating apps, it is not free from criticisms, especially on the ground of racial
discrimination.

Different researchers at Cornell University suggested that online dating apps promote racial bias
and discrimination. Several dating apps have the filter functions that allow the users to filter
ethnicity which directly promotes discrimination. In a study done by the researchers of Cornell
University on the 25 top grossing dating apps in US, they found that the “race” plays a vital role
in finding matches in the dating apps. It says that dating apps possess algorithms that filters
analyze the race of the past matches of the users and then recommend the potential partners who
belongs to the same racial group. This features might put the minorities at low level of getting
matched. The lead author of the study, Jevan Hutson, says that, “Though intimacy is private
matter but our private lives do have impacts on larger socioeconomic patters that are systematic.”

In 2014, a dating website Ok Cupid conducted a five-year research study and found that Black
people and Asian are facing worst with racial and gender discrimination among 25 million users.
Further, the study of Ok Cupid shows that in the case of male – female couples, most of the
people were generally more interested in dating people of their own race. The founder of Ok
Cupid, Christian Rudder, said that “race is the ultimate confounding factor when you are looking
at two American strangers behaving in a romantic context.”

A famous blogger, Stephanie Yeboah, had shared her experience regarding discrimination in
online dating apps in The Independent, a British newspaper. As per her, she has experienced
discrimination in dating apps being a black women though people are free to meet up with her.
She told that, people comment as like “getting a taste of jungle fever” and people say black
women are aggressive in bed. Such comments are dehumanizing to the black women and have
make them feel inferior in the society.
However, in the present days, a new hope of eradicating of discrimination through online dating
apps are seen as the positive steps are being taken by several dating apps in the process of
removing the filters that are responsible for promoting racial and ethnic bias. Following the
criticisms from long time, Grindr, a popular dating app, have recently announced a “zero-
tolerance” policy on racism and discrimination and have threaten to ban those users who use
racist language. The app is also taking step for the removal of options that allow users to filter
potential dates by race. Recently, it announced to remove its ethnicity filter within the next
update of the app, after following the years of receiving criticism for allowing racism on dating
platform.

People often finds the way to escape from the fact of such discrimination arguing that the it is
solely the matter of preference rather than discriminating and the matches are made with bona
fide intention. Some even claim it as a matter of extremely personal preference of choosing
people of any race and ethnicity, however such culture of racial filters in dating apps will made a
significant influence in our preferences and impact our decisions.

Thus, the issues of discrimination should be properly looked after and must be discouraged from
the online dating apps. This could be done by providing the options to describe the particular
users other than the person’s race and ethnicity. The responsibility of discouraging racism on
dating apps lies both on the users and the apps. The users must go in the way of their personal
preference regardless of the race and the dating apps should create a space that promotes and
supports racial equity. Otherwise, it promotes and supports the racial biasness and discrimination
and harass especially the minorities groups.

2.2. Arguments in favor of racial filters

A group of people does not think that the presence of ethic filters in the dating apps promote the
biasness and discrimination. They disguised it as having “preferences”. As per this line of
thought, daters do have the right to say or to choose the certain type of person for them by
screening among others. Similarly, some are of the view that, “removing ethnicity filters” does
not affect in the mentality of people in regard of racial discrimination. Likewise, many people
even try to escape saying that the choosing of racial filters in with the bona fine intention behind
preferences and it has nothing at all to the intentional discrimination.
Thus, those who favors ethnic filters says that it is the mentality of the individual, but not the
filters in the dating apps that in actual trigger the biasness and discrimination. Ryan Wade, an
assistant professor at University of Illinois – Champaign School of Social Work, says that
“removing ethnicity filters doesn’t address the discrimination on the apps”, but just implicitly
passes the message that amounts to little more than virtue signaling. However, the removal of the
ethnicity filters does provides that human race must not be the criteria for the selection of one’s
partner.

2.3. Arguments against the racial filters

Race should never be the preference for the selection of partners. This creates insecurities to the
victims as they have no any control over it. People cannot change the natural color of their skin
and they must not be judged on its basis. In the society, no person should be judged or selected
on the basis of his/her appearance and the color of skin. Providing the racial filters in the dating
apps is a form of discrimination and biasness although it does not resembles the past nature of
direct discrimination. The presence of filters like “White person only makes the minorities fell
different, unattractive and inferior in the society.
Currently, the racial discrimination and biasness in online dating are deeply rooted. For example,
research of Cornell University suggests that “black men and women are ten times more likely to
message whites than white people are to message black people”. Allowing the users to select
partners through filters not only creates discriminatory preferences but also may stop them from
adding the partners which they would have liked in such filters does not exist. As the use of
dating apps continue to rose, fighting racism within it clearly shows that how both users and app
can contribute to discrimination and biasness.

In a study published by researchers from Cornell University, they examined the presence of
racial bias on the basis of 25 highest grossing dating apps in the US, where they found race
played a great role in finding matches. Glen Jankowski, a psychology lecturer says that, “These
apps increasingly form a big part of our lives beyond dating. Just because this occurs virtually
doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be subject to the same standards of real life.” For that reason it’s
important that the apps take a stand on such behavior. She further adds that “the online space is
complicated, and people can say things they wouldn’t say in a bar because of the potential
ramifications.
2.4. Victim’s perspective

British daily newspaper, The Guardian, in 29th September, 2018 had mention the victim’s story
of racial discrimination in online dating apps. Style blogger Stephanie Yeboah faced the regular
messages using the words that implies “a black women is aggressive, animalistic and hyper
sexualized”. Due to this, Yeboah had stop to use the dating apps as she finds no point in using
them.

Sinakhone Keodara, the founder of a Los Angeles-based Asian television, comes out with the
same difficulty. While coming out with the profile of a white man and heading conversation she
immediately received a response “Asian, ew gross” and was considering to sue Grindr.

Another Los Angeles resident, Jason, have similar disheartening story. Being a gay and Filipino,
he felt like having no other choices after getting continuous rejections based on his ethnicity.
Since then, he stopped using the dating apps.

A 28 year old Ari Curtis shared her story as being less desirable as her partner says in her face
that his parents will never accept him because she is black.

If we consider the aforementioned real hatred and discriminatory experiences faced by the
victims of racial discrimination through the medium of dating apps, it is completely
dehumanized behavior. Everyone deserves love and it should not be limited by the matter of race
and ethnicity.

Chapter 3
3.1. Present situation

In the present days, many dating aps are in process of removing the filters that are responsible for
promoting racial and ethnic bias. Different researchers have also criticized the dating apps on
this regard.

Due to these reasons, recently Grindr announced a “zero-tolerance” policy on racism and
discrimination, threatening to ban users who use racist language. It launched its Kindr campaign,
which features new community guidelines and stricter enforcement of non-discrimination
policies. It has announced for removing the racial filters following the heavy criticisms from
several years. However, other apps, including online dating behemoth Match Group Inc. has
been using it. Despite heavy criticisms, it has been defending the continuous use of the filter on
some of its 40 brands. Thus, the current situation can be described still as of discriminatory
nature and it is needed to be given special attention. Since, the racial discrimination has been
deeply rooted in the society, it requires the consistent and complete enforcement of measures and
policies to eradicate such problem.

3.2. Possible solutions

On the one hand, it remains the duty of we people to discourage the racism promotion from such
apps. We should never place the trust solely in institutions or apps developer to do the right
thing. When the matters come of discouraging the racial discrimination, it has to begin with the
people. Every person should come together and have to push each other to do better.
Non-white people could employ the segregationist theory to “whites only" profiles and move
over to other platforms that tend to describe people in other basis rather than the race. Similarly,
we all users could together quit the apps on the grounds of biasness and discrimination. This
way, all the users of these apps, can come together to be more inclusive and sociable. Then, we
can see the changes that the filtering of people by race will be discouraged and stopped very
soon.
Likewise, another simple solution to the problem at hand is that instead of rejecting everyone
from a specific group, we can reject people on a case-by-case basis. If we are not interested in
engaging with someone, we can tell them directly and if they don’t take the hint we can block
them. There is no need to demonstrate the whole group as unattractive and inferior. There is no
reason to put out a message making every one of a certain ethnicity feel bad about themselves.
Furthermore, strict guidelines and policies are to be made and implemented against such
discriminatory acts. Government should warn such apps and sites to remove the racial filters and
involve other filters to describe the person. It is in the short timeframe that the racial filters will
be removed and the people start to find partners without following the race and ethnicity if all the
aforementioned steps are considers and implemented. However, it is not possible to remove the
deeply rooted racial discrimination by the efforts of one group. It requires the coordinated effort
from all users, apps developer and government level.
3.3. Conclusion
I believe that the responsibility of discouraging racism on dating apps lies both on the users and
the apps. The users must do along the way of their personal preference regardless of the content
of race and the apps must need to create a space that promotes racial equity.

All the dating apps should remove their racial features and instead they have to create anti-racist
posts and mandatory reading for users regarding how the dating preferences are formed and
maintained. Doing this, dating apps could also be a good place to start for avoiding and removing
racism. As per the findings of Pew Research Center, it is estimated that one-third of marriages
start online and that 60 percent of same-sex couples meet online.

Being described or known people on the basis of race should be any of the criteria, whether in
the case of people using dating apps for casual hookups or with intention of finding true love.
We are not loving any people by screening them from the ethnic and racial filters. The so called
preferences here is purely artificial to be escaped from the blame of discrimination.

Last but not the least, dating apps are supposed to provide a space where we can meet other
people and establish relationships. In these apps, we do not have a right to figure out
attractiveness based on race or any other discriminatory qualities on any basis. For this, it
requires the coordinated and consistent effort from all users, apps developer and government
level.

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