Bumble and Other Cultural Practices, Habits, and Expectations

Two cultural practices, habits, and expectations worth discussing other than the ones discussed in Bumble and Gender are as follows. First is the cultural shift back to dating. Compared to Tinder or Grindr which are more hook up apps, 85 percent of Bumble users say they are looking for marriage or a relationship (Vitto, 2018). Users are aware of this culture and this creates an environment in which dating is the cultural expectation.

Second is the cultural practice of presenting the best version of yourself. This practice is prevalent on many social media sites, however, it is even more prevalent on dating apps as you are essentially marketing yourself. Meikle (2016) explains, “the user simultaneously tries to present themselves in the way they think will be most attractive, while trying at the same time to invoke a very specific imagined and desired audience” (p. 11). This relates to the notion of self-presentation which is basically everything people do to manage impressions. Katrin Tiidenberg explains that selfies are used on dating apps to appear friendly or attractive and as an invitation to interaction (2018). In this way Bumble users utilize selfies to follow the cultural practice of managing self-presentation in an environment in which it is an expectation. In these two ways Bumble both follows a common cultural practice and forges a new one and these practices modify people’s cultural expectations.