There are a lot of great things about modern womanhood. Thanks to feminism, we don’t have to worry about chivalry, really, because we can buy our own meals and open our own doors. Sure, it’s useful if we’ve got our hands full, but to be honest, that applies to anyone, regardless of gender. Chivalry isn’t dead – it’s just not really necessary anymore. Especially because it’s actually more about the relationship between a knight and his horse. Check the etymology if you don’t believe me.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate kind acts from romantic partners. Now Tinder is trying to help people meet their matches by teaming up with Lyft so that someone can send a vehicle to pick someone up and bring them to a bar for a date. Or directly into your bed, if you prefer. It is kind of funny that with a smartphone and a credit card anyone can order pizza, a sexual partner, or a portrait of Mike Wazowski in a gimp suit. That might not actually be part of modern womanhood, but it would utterly baffle a knight, and that’s always amusing.
Tinder and Lyft partnering up is not a bad idea
Let’s be honest, though: Tinder isn’t being altruistic. They’re a huge company, partnering with another huge company, attempting to get a little bit more money. Of course, this hasn’t stopped them from praising themselves, saying that the feature is a “thoughtful gesture while promoting personal safety for those ready to ‘get back out there’ after way too many months inside”.
A study from late 2019 showed that 15% of women who use Lyft have reported their drivers for making them feel uncomfortable and just under 8% have had to involve the police, but let’s not think about that too much. Perhaps that’s what happens when there aren’t enough women in boardrooms.
Tinder feature
There’s another secret benefit for Lyft. Tinder’s only works if both people in the pairing have Lyft’s app downloaded, but let’s be honest, most people use Uber instead. Perhaps this is a sneaky tactic to get more people aware of Lyft and willing to say “fuck it, let’s order a Lyft” when the nearest Uber is too far away.
It’ll probably make more people aware of their service, given the size of Tinder’s user base and the overlap of their target demographic. Given that Tinder’s users will have to have Lyft downloaded anyway, perhaps they’ll just switch across to the Lyft app and use it directly. Tinder appears to be counting on convenience and believing that its users won’t even bother to close their app.
The feature was first announced back in March and has now been rolled out to all Tinder users. It can be found on the ‘explore’ tab, where you can work out the details of the journey – or decline it, if you don’t actually want to meet the person you’ve matched with. If this happens, the money will be returned to whoever organized the Lyft. Oh – and don’t forget that Lyft is only available in the USA and some parts of Canada, so if you’re, well, anywhere else in the world, you might struggle to find a driver.
Ultimately, this might work out well. If I was trying to meet someone for a date and missed my bus, it’d probably be quite nice to have a Lyft ordered so I could be chauffeured and, I don’t know, do my lipstick in the backseat like someone in a rom-com. But let’s be honest: some people might well feel that there’s no point in connecting the two apps, or that Tinder might do better by teaming up with a streaming service, given Tinder users’ go-to line: wanna Netflix and chill?
Rachel Hall, M.A., completed her education in English at the University of Pennsylvania and received her master’s degree in family therapy from Northern Washington University. She has been actively involved in the treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, and coping with life changes and traumatic events for both families and individual clients for over a decade. Her areas of expertise include narrative therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and therapy for traumatic cases. In addition, Rachel conducts workshops focusing on the psychology of positive thinking and coping skills for both parents and teens. She has also authored numerous articles on the topics of mental health, stress, family dynamics and parenting.
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