 Technology has been helping people start relationships since, well, forever. Well, I've been here! But with the massive increase in digital dating platforms, sometimes it gets a little much. An ever-growing list of apps like Tinder, Grindr, Hinge serve up an unending number of potential partners to evaluate. Headlines are calling it the dating apocalypse. But is the constant swiping really such a bad thing? The evidence out there is mixed. On the one hand, there's the concept of choice overload, the idea that too many options might make it harder to choose and to be happy with the result. Experts point to a study done in a grocery store where shoppers were much more likely to stop and try the samples at a table crammed with options. But they actually bought the items more often when there were fewer to choose from. It's like when you fall asleep watching countless trailers on Netflix before you manage to decide on a movie. Of course, shopping for jam or picking a movie is a little different than looking for a life partner, where the stakes are a lot higher. And whether choice overload exists and applies to online dating is actually kind of controversial. In one small study of a group of undergraduate students who were mostly white and mostly female, so not really representative of the general population, the students were less satisfied when they picked a date from 24 options than when they picked from six. But that's an artificial situation. And when you look at actual couples, having more choices might work out just fine in the long run. And various studies show that couples who met online stayed together about as often, or slightly more often, than couples who met in person. And actually, digital matches ended up getting married faster. More importantly, online dating and dating apps have actually been pretty helpful in the LGBTQ community. As the internet gained traction in the 1990s, the percentage of gay and lesbian couples who met their soulmates on the internet spiked and continued to rise. So looking at the data, it kind of seems like even if we feel overwhelmed at dating options, it isn't preventing us from making decisions we wind up being happy with. Just the opposite. Still, mainstream dating platforms have a long way to go before they're inclusive of everyone. That's why new apps like Thirst, a dating app for queer people of all genders, have popped onto the scene. Regardless of how sophisticated dating platforms get, they're still just tools, so they don't magically take the effort out of relationships. Sadly. So if you're single and feeling overwhelmed, keep swiping and hope for the best. You'll probably find someone. Probably.
 Technology has been helping people start relationships since, well, forever.
 Well, I've been here!
 But with the massive increase in digital dating platforms, sometimes it gets a little much.
 An ever-growing list of apps like Tinder, Grindr, Hinge serve up an unending number
 of potential partners to evaluate.
 Headlines are calling it the dating apocalypse.
 But is the constant swiping really such a bad thing?
 The evidence out there is mixed.
 On the one hand, there's the concept of choice overload, the idea that too many options
 might make it harder to choose and to be happy with the result.
 Experts point to a study done in a grocery store where shoppers were much more likely
 to stop and try the samples at a table crammed with options.
 But they actually bought the items more often when there were fewer to choose from.
 It's like when you fall asleep watching countless trailers on Netflix before you manage to
 decide on a movie.
 Of course, shopping for jam or picking a movie is a little different than looking for a life
 partner, where the stakes are a lot higher.
 And whether choice overload exists and applies to online dating is actually kind of controversial.
 In one small study of a group of undergraduate students who were mostly white and mostly
 female, so not really representative of the general population, the students were less
 satisfied when they picked a date from 24 options than when they picked from six.
 But that's an artificial situation.
 And when you look at actual couples, having more choices might work out just fine in the
 long run.
 And various studies show that couples who met online stayed together about as often,
 or slightly more often, than couples who met in person.
 And actually, digital matches ended up getting married faster.
 More importantly, online dating and dating apps have actually been pretty helpful in
 the LGBTQ community.
 As the internet gained traction in the 1990s, the percentage of gay and lesbian couples
 who met their soulmates on the internet spiked and continued to rise.
 So looking at the data, it kind of seems like even if we feel overwhelmed at dating options,
 it isn't preventing us from making decisions we wind up being happy with.
 Just the opposite.
 Still, mainstream dating platforms have a long way to go before they're inclusive
 of everyone.
 That's why new apps like Thirst, a dating app for queer people of all genders, have
 popped onto the scene.
 Regardless of how sophisticated dating platforms get, they're still just tools, so they don't
 magically take the effort out of relationships.
 Sadly.
 So if you're single and feeling overwhelmed, keep swiping and hope for the best.
 You'll probably find someone.
 Probably.