“Dating” apps are not built to help people find a partner for a long-term relationship. It’s not in their interest They oblige us to make quick decisions about potential partners based on a couple of photos and very limited information because it is not in their interests for too many users to find their “reason for deleting” the app. They want you to keep coming back. With their checklists and comparability filters, they make superficial factors deal breakers and are training us to believe the perfect match is out there and that we can only be happy with him. Sadly, in all but the largest cities, the apps (and the digital revolution more broadly) have led to the demise of so many places where we used to gather and meet: the local gay bookstore, bar, community center, sauna, adult movie theater, sex shop, and even city park at night. While the places at the end of the list are mostly locations for anonymous hookups, I know of numerous longterm relationships that began in one of them. Someone slipped their phone number to the other or two men decide to leave together for a drink or bite to eat. What do you think? Are the apps destroying gay communities or helping us find love?