After Modi came to power in 2014, he rolled out the red carpet for tech giants, including Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge. Created by and for Americans, they saw a promising market in India: half of the most populous country in the world is under 25 years old and has the fastest growth rate of mobile users. They landed with American products without adapting them to a very complex social fabric, an ancient caste system and patriarchy, and a long history of suppression of women's rights. India is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman. With the arrival of Modi and these apps, the situation has worsened. Women feel unprotected by the law and authorities. India has the largest gender imbalance in the world: there are more than 63 million 'extra' men.
Match Group entered India in 2014 with Tinder, then Hinge in 2015. Bumble arrived in 2017. When it came to adapting their products to India, all the companies failed.
In early 2014, Jess Carbino, earned her PhD in Psychology & Sociology from UCLA, and became a Sociologist for Tinder. Carbino's 3-person team had the mission to soak up the political and social context of the countries to which the group planned to expand. Sometimes, they traveled to the place. This was not the case in India. The report they prepared for this country included references to the diversity of religions and languages, the caste hierarchy, the high rate of violence against women, and the prevalence of arranged marriages – 90% of weddings in India are agreed between families. "We were fully aware that a disruption was occurring," says Carbino. "And we knew that as the next generations were less corseted by their parents, we could create change."
Hrithik Bhandari was 19 years old when, in 2018, Tinder made him a "campus ambassador" at the National Institute of Technology in Jodhpur. In return, he got a subscription and occasional invitations to events. He walked around with a Tinder t-shirt, giving away merchandise and convincing his mates to join him.
The proof that Match Group was aware of the abuse problems in India is the 'Let's talk about consent' campaign from 2021. A short film showed a young couple. She breaks up because he forces her to have sex when she doesn't want to.
"With a popular culture that has blurred the boundaries of consent for generations, and a society that doesn't recognize the importance of discussing boundaries, modern dating is complex for the country's young people," reads the statement that accompanied the presentation of the film. Campaigns on social networks in 2014 challenged women, portraying them as independent and free young people, but their 'target' had become the men who did not respect them.
Only 1 in 4 crimes against women [in India] end in a conviction, and 95% of the reported cases are still pending processing, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau of India.
The biggest pending task for apps is identity verification, which is limited to contrasting a 'selfie' with profile photos. Criminal record and sexual & violent crimes checks are still pending.
The Indian Penal Code considers any sexual relationship without consent a rape, a serious crime. The problem is the definition of consent: being in the same room as the aggressor is often equated with giving permission to be intimate. People Against Rape in India helps survivors take their cases to court. "Society, even the authorities, do not feel sorry for the victim," says its founder, Yogita Bhayana.
by Irene Benedicto
See full article at El Periodico
Mark Brooks: Here is another excellent video by Tinder India on boundaries and permission, with 1.6m views. And another with 1.3M views. I think the underpinnings of any great loving relationship are honesty, respect, and communication. But how on earth do we train this and navigate all the cultural, religious, and psychological complexity? Is it really our irresponsibility? This article raises more questions than answers. It made me realize that perhaps we need a place for more open (yet private) discussion as an industry. Please email me your thoughts at mark@courtlandbrooks.com.
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